Wembley bridge named after horse

The new Wembley Stadium bridge has been named in honour of the horse that helped restore order at the first FA Cup final to be played there.

The £20million footbridge, which will connect the new national stadium to Wembley town centre, is to be called White Horse Bridge.

When 250,000 fans spilled onto the pitch before the first Wembley cup final in 1923, Billy - ridden by Pc George Scorey - rode in to save the day, calming the crowds, clearing the field, and allowing the game between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham to begin. Bolton won 2-0.

Bosses of the new £757million stadium asked fans to suggest names for the footbridge - which was designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield - then vote for their favourite from a shortlist in an online poll.

The vote for White Horse was boosted by the Back Billy's Bid campaign, which called for an end to "the 82-year-old snub to Wembley's first hero". Despite starting as an outsider, it quickly gained a fan base and just beat the other favourite, England's World Cupwinning manager Sir Alf Ramsey, into second place.

The other runners up were Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst and Live Aid - after the famous 1985 charity concert.

Three panellists picked their way through the suggestions to draw up the shortlist - BBC Radio Five Live's Jonathan Pearce, London Development Agency executive director Tony Winterbottom and Wembley Stadium chief executive Michael Cunnah.

Commentator Pearce said: "It's fantastic that an unsung legend of Wembley folklore is being immortalised in this way. The calm actions and sound authority of this famous horse could well have saved hundreds of lives on that amazing day back in 1923."

Mr Winterbottom added: "The transformation that is happening in Wembley is remarkable, and this state-of-the art footbridge is just one part of that.

"However, this is an area steeped in history and it is great that this dramatic, modern structure will have a name that secures it so strongly to Wembley's past." The LDA received more than 670,000 suggestions for the bridge's name, including many from fans in rival nations seeking to hijack the competition.

Thousands of Germans had tried to get fellow countryman Dietmar Hamann on the shortlist after he scored the last goal at the old stadium. Some Scots also attempted to put their hero Jim Baxter in the frame. But the panellists rejected overseas pressure in favour of more suitable names

One notable name missing, however, was 1966 World Cup captain Bobby Moore.

But there is already a Bobby Moore Bridge near Wembley Park Tube, named in September 1993.