A YOUNG football fan’s dream came true when England defender Lewis Dunk gave him his shirt at the end of a game.

Finley Williams, also known as The Mighty Fin, has a rare condition called Mowat-Wilson syndrome which means he can’t speak.

But, he does not let that stop him following Brighton and Hove Albion right across the country.

After their away defeat against Burnley earlier this month, defender Lewis Dunk went up to 14-year-old Fin and his father, Paul Williams, and gave him his match-worn shirt.

Paul said: “Fin can’t talk but he absolutely loves going to the football.

“It’s his favourite thing.

“He can make some sounds which are similar to words.

“And when I walk into his bedroom in the morning the first thing that he says to me is “hoothall” as a reminder that he wants me to take him to a game.

“I have to tell him ‘sorry mate, you’ve got to go to school today’.”

Paul was born in Brighton, and grew up in Patcham, while Fin was born in Worthing.

But he and his family moved to Colwyn Bay in North Wales while he was still a baby.

Paul discovered Fin’s love for the beautiful game a few years ago, but it wasn’t straightforward.

He said: “When he was two months old he had heart surgery.

“This is synonymous with his condition, although we didn’t know that he had it then.

“After that, we began to work out what he did and didn’t like.”

Paul said that Fin loved to watch football videos on YouTube but he often struggled with loud noises, so his father was reluctant to take him to a game.

However, in May, 2017, he decided to take him to watch Brighton play Aston Villa away at the end of their promotion-winning season in the Championship.

Paul said: “It wasn’t too far from our home in North Wales so, if he didn’t like it, I could pull him out at any time.

“In the first half, he had his fingers in his ears but you could see that he was transfixed.

“By the time the second half started he had taken his fingers out of his ears and was loving it.

“Now he never sits down at games because he’s so excited.”

Despite living in North Wales, Fin and his dad make the five hour trip down to the South coast about six times a season, as well as watching as many away games as possible.

Paul said: “We don’t really know his life expectancy so my life is about making as many happy memories together as we can.

“He is a massive character and is always smiling, everybody just warms to him.”