Cheap way to Anfield -- via Brussels

Football fan Andy Rollé saved a fortune when he travelled from London to watch his beloved Liverpool play - via Brussels.

To his amazement Mr Rollé's round the trip cost him only £50 to fly from England to the Belgian capital and back again.

So he showed the red card to Virgin train bosses who wanted to charge him double - £102 - for the return fare from London to Merseyside. The journey from Euston to Lime Street normally takes three-and-a-half hours.

Mr Rollé, 27, from Southgate, said: "It is the first time I've needed my passport to watch Liverpool play at home at Anfield."

Deciding to look at his options he scoured the internet where he found the Ryanair deal, with tickets for him and his friend, Chris Dominic, costing as little as £1.96 on the four-leg round trip.

Opting to fly even though the trip was more than 900 miles, compared with 194 miles on the train, the pair arrived at Stansted airport at 6.45am on Saturday, before boarding the 7.30am flight. Landing an hour later, at 9.30am local time, the pair then had an hour's wait before catching a plane back to Britain.

Mr Rollé joined a crowd of 43,000 at Anfield to see his side win 1-0 thanks to an Aston Villa own goal.

He told The Sun: "We were in Liverpool by 11.45am, perfect to have a drink and something to eat before the game. We have gone by train in the past but it is far too expensive and the bus takes too long.

"It was the perfect way to travel and things got even better when we beat Aston Villa 1-0."

But with Ryanair planning to axe its Brussels-Liverpool flight Mr Rollé is now thinking about his next trip to Liverpool - via Dublin.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "Our low fares are unbeatable, especially for fans wanting to cheer on their teams."