Hundreds of soccer fans donned John Prescott masks to demand a new stadium as the Albion's season reached a dramatic climax.

A sea of identical faces sang and chanted from the stands as Brighton and Hove Albion beat Swindon 1-0 in the Division Two play-offs.

Supporters cut out the mask printed in Saturday's Argus to hammer home, one final time, that the future of the club is in the Deputy Prime Minister's hands.

Thousands of TV viewers watching the match live on Sky witnessed the united front put on by Seagulls' fans fighting for a 22,000-seat stadium at Falmer.

Outside Swindon's ground, Brian Trouch, 41, from Worthing, said: "Every Albion fan has got to get behind the Falmer For All campaign because it is about the future of the club. Winning the play-offs is about the short-term future but getting a new stadium is the long-term. We need to remind John Prescott how vital his decision is and hopefully the masks will make a difference."

Linda Taylor, 38, from Brighton, said: "Well done The Argus. The masks were a great idea, especially as the game was on TV. Getting Falmer is so important for the club and the more we let John Prescott know that the better."

Liam Tomlinson, 16, of Hassocks, said: "Everyone I know says they want a new ground and I wish they would just hurry up and sort it out."

Peter Morgan, 29, from Brighton, said: "The whole of Brighton is behind this campaign because a city like Brighton should have a good football team which plays in a good ground."

Scores of supporters packed into Hove Greyhound Stadium to watch on a big screen the first leg of the play-offs at the County Ground.

Withdean Stadium season ticket holder Beryl Reeves, 62, of Court Farm Road, Hove, was watching the game with 12 members of her family.

She said: "We've got to get Mr Prescott's attention somehow. I'm thrilled The Argus is backing the fight for Falmer."

Her niece, Amanda Hall, 30, of London Road, Brighton, said: "It's a great idea of The Argus to print the masks. Virtually everyone in Brighton gets The Argus or the Sports Argus and it makes people aware of what's going on with the stadium."

The Falmer campaign formally closed last year but in March interested parties were invited to make final sub-missions in the light of another planning inspector's assessment that the earmarked site was unsuitable.