A 100-year-old Trowbridge football fan has been rewarded for her loyalty to her beloved club - with access to their corporate boxes.

Kitty Thorne travelled by steam train to her first Bristol Rovers match in 1954 with her husband and then nine-year-old son. She became hooked after watching Rovers beat Leeds United 5-1 and has returned to almost every match since.

The retired catering manageress makes the 52-mile round trip from her home with her son Peter, now 70.

Bristol Rovers held a birthday party for Mrs Thorne and gave her access to their corporate boxes at the Memorial Stadium until the end of the season.

"It is amazing to think how long Mum has been going to see Bristol Rovers," Mr Thorne said.

"Her first match was in 1954, my dad took us on the stream train from Trowbridge to Stapleton Road station.

"We only attended about a quarter of the matches for a couple of seasons but then we got keener and keener.

"Mum was getting more enthusiastic but then her age crept up on her, she is still very keen though.

"We say to her 'you have to be sensible about it Mum' because there will be awful weather or it will be really cold and she'll say 'I'll make it, I'm going'."

Mrs Thorne was evacuated from London to Trowbridge with husband, Leslie, in the Second World War.

They began attending local football matches together - occasionally watching Trowbridge Town play Chippenham Town.

It was on October 23, 1954, that Mr Thorne took his wife and then nine-year-old Peter to watch Bristol Rovers play Leeds United. The Queen was in the early days of her reign and Winston Churchill was prime minister.

"The first day she went, against Leeds, there was a player called Geoff Bradford and she really liked him," Mr Thorne said.

"I think it was him who started her supporting them."

The family's first match, at Eastville Stadium, was attended by a crowd of 24,000 and saw Rovers beat Leeds United 5-1.

Four years later, in 1959, Mr Thorne died but mother-of-one Mrs Thorne continued to take Peter to watch their favourite team.

"It was Dad who first took us but when he died Mum took over and we went on the train," Mr Thorne said.

One of Mrs Thorne's favourite matches was when Manchester United visited in the League Cup on 1972.

She felt unwell soon after kick-off and was escorted, by police officers, to the bench where St John Ambulance were sitting and was able to watch the rest of the match from there.

"It was the best seat in the house," Mrs Thorne said.

She later became a season ticket holder in the South Stand and sat in the East Stand before moving to the West Stand when Rovers moved to the Memorial Stadium.

Mr Thorne and his wife Margaret now take Mrs Thorne to as many matches as possible and are thrilled with their new seats in the corporate boxes.

"Mum used to pack corned beef sandwiches when we first started going," Mr Thorne, a retired postman, said.

"Then we used to go into a greasy spoon and have an omelette before the match but we now get a free meal in the executive boxes.

"Last time we went it was bourguignon, which was rather good."

Mrs Thorne watched Bristol Rovers draw 1-1 with Torquay United the day before she celebrated her 100th birthday, on January 2.

She was presented with a bouquet of flowers by club director Barry Bradshaw and enjoyed a hug with manager Darrell Clarke.

"She had a great time," Mr Thorne said.

"When it was her 98th birthday Rovers were going through a bad run but now, two years on and a few wins, Mum's interested is even more revived."