Sheffield Wednesday captain pays surprise birthday visit to valued member of SWFC team

Mary Kitson, who turned 80 last week, had worked as a cleaner at Sheffield Wednesday for more than half a century since 1968.

It started as short term, going for nine or ten months at a time, but she was eventually signed full time in August 1977.

Mary recently retired during the national lockdown but was planning to leave prior to the pandemic anyway.

"I had already planned to leave in May, but when shutdown went on and on, they said do you want to go and I said yes – I think I had done long enough.

"They have been good to me, and I presume and I hope that I have been good to them.”

Mary was given the surprise of her life when Wednesday captain Barry Bannan visited her home with flowers and to have a chat.

She had no idea that he was going to turn up but her daughter made sure she stayed at home.

"She asked me if I could stay in because she had got a parcel coming. My daughter-in-law then came down, as she usually comes down on a Friday, and she had come early,” she said.

When Barry knocked on the door, Mary assumed it was her daughter’s parcel, but was left stunned when she the captain.

“I thought – I hadn’t ordered flowers and then I saw it was him and I just had a shock. It was the shock of a lifetime.

"He is very nice and he is on the same side as me.”

Sheffield Wednesday described Mary Kitson "a valued member of our team” on Twitter.

During her time at Hillsborough, Mary went to every single game and followed them away from home, but since the pandemic began, she has only been once.

"I didn’t miss any when I was younger and always went away with them, but since Covid I have only been to one.

"I thought I’d like to go back just to say ta-ra to some of the stewards and those that were working there.

"So I went to the match on Saturday (against Lincoln City), but it was a pity about the draw!”