A REFEREE who has been officiating football matches for nearly 50 years in the Deeside area was gifted a nice surprise earlier this week.

Love them or hate them, without referees the various football matches we all love to watch week in, week out up and down the country would not take place.

One of North Wales' longest-serving refs is Brian Purcell.

Read more: Flintshire councillors urged to put differences aside after elections

The Connah's Quay resident has been the man in the middle for around 48 years and will be a familiar face to so many people in the town and beyond.

83-year-old Brian can often be seen sporting his Liverpool FC top around town.

He is still to this day involved with refereeing and coaching in junior football in Deeside.

Following a Facebook post put up of a picture of Brian with two other match officials earlier this week, fellow Connah's Quay resident and friend Les Melling decided to do something to surprise Brian.

The Leader:

PIC: The picture which has now been framed and presented to Brian Purcell. Picture by Steve Parry.

As Brian is not on Facebook and would not have seen the picture otherwise, Les decided to get it printed off and framed before personally delivering it to the man himself on Monday (May 23).

Les said: "I have known Brian for around 12 months and people always have great things to say about him.

"A few days ago, there was a thread started on Facebook about Brian. He has been refereeing amateur football at all levels and has had a number of awards. Somebody even suggested he should be awarded the MBE.

"Well the black and white photo (circa 1980s) put up was so good I thought he deserved it framed. Well done and may you have many more years refereeing 'Mr.Liverpool'.

"I took the photo to Speilmann's who printed it off and got the frame from Asda. Brian was over the moon with the picture and says he'll be putting it up in a special place in his living room. It's the least he deserves."

The Leader:

Picture by Les Melling.

Down the years, Brian has received many awards for his dedication to grassroots football.

In Connah's Quay, the town council presented him with a 'Community Spirit' award for his efforts back in 2019.