Football fans have paid tribute to Bradley Lowery on what would have been his 15th birthday.
Sunderland and Everton supporters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday unveiled a large banner with a picture of Bradley, who died from neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, aged just six years old in 2017.
They stood up and applauded on the 15th minute, singing ‘One Bradley Lowery’, with his mother Gemma brought to tears.
Bradley, from Blackhall Colliery, near Hartlepool, became an inspirational figure across the country as he battled with Stage four cancer.
The avid Sunderland fan developed a close friendship with Jermaine Defoe and forged a bond with Everton when he was a mascot in a fixture between the two sides at the Stadium of Light in 2016.
Bradley’s parents were invited to Everton’s stadium for their final home game of the season and described it as a ‘proud’ and ’emotional’ moment.
His mother, the founder of the Bradley Lowery Foundation, said: ‘To be back at the stadium and to see both sets of fans coming together to remember Bradley on what would have been his 15th birthday weekend is incredibly emotional, but also a proud moment for us as a family.
‘The two clubs have both been absolutely amazing. It’s precious to me because they were fantastic when Bradley was alive, but to continue that support and to help us to continue his legacy has been incredible.
‘The awareness they have both raised has been really important. It gets people talking about childhood cancer and gets people wanting to do fundraising activities, which in turn, helps us to help other families.’
Sunderland and Everton supporters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium unveiled a large banner with a picture of Bradley Lowery, on what would have been his 15th birthday
The six-year-old, who died from neuroblastoma in 2017, was an inspiration to many across the country
The avid Sunderland fan developed a close friendship with Jermaine Defoe after he was his mascot
In a post on X, she wrote: ‘Happy heavenly 15th birthday to my hero, I often think what you would be like at 15 but it’s hard. In my mind you my cute little six year old with that cheeky beautiful smile and not a moody teenager.
‘One thing I do know is I am spending today exactly how I would if you were here with me. I know you would of been going to the Everton vs Sunderland game cheering on your two favourite teams.’
Bradley was diagnosed with cancer at just 18 months old and battled with the illness throughout his life.
He became ‘best mates’ with Defoe after they met when Bradley was his mascot.
The former England striker has previously spoken about how the young boy changed him as a person.
He said: ‘He will always be in my heart, for the rest of my life. There’s not a day that goes past where I don’t wake up and think about little Bradley, because his love is genuine.’
Bradley’s mother set up the Bradley Lowery Foundation foundation in August 2017 following his death.
It has raised millions of pounds for treatment of seriously-ill children and their families across the UK.
