Afternoon:
11°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
NEW: GPs urged to stop prescribing antibiotics for coughs and colds as overuse is increasing resistance to them, making it more difficult to tackle serious infections like hospital bugs
More...
Tearful Liverpool fans stranded at airport as last flight cancelled
Last updated at 17:06pm on 24.05.07A plane-load of Liverpool fans heading for the Champions League final were left devastated when the last charter flight to Athens was cancelled.
Tearful fans who had spent thousands of pounds on the trip of a lifetime said their dream final had been "snatched away".
Tickets to the match against AC Milan are like golddust - 100 fans earlier fought over a single ticket in Athens.
Scroll down for more
Devastated: Fans at the airport
Around 150 fans were due to fly from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Athens on the airline Jet Time, which was originally scheduled to leave at 10am.
But, due to a technical fault with the plane the flight was repeatedly delayed and finally cancelled at 2pm.
Fighting back tears, 22-year-old computer technician Ben Whitehead, of Huddersfield, West Yorks, said: "I am absolutely devastated. I've been crying and I will probably cry again in a minute. I am just trying to hold it in.
Red revelry: Liverpool fans in Syntagma Square, Athens, ahead of the Champions League final tonight. As many as 50,000 have descended on the city
"I have been to every Champions League game this season and to go to the final was the dream finish but it has been snatched away because of some two-bit airline."
Brothers Brian and Alan Hastie, aged 38 and 42, from Kirkby, Merseyside, both had tickets and were due to meet friends in Athens who need tickets.
Alan said: "It is so frustrating. We are here with two tickets that can't be used and our mates are over there needing tickets."
Soccer plea: against official advice, some fans travelled to Greece without match tickets
Brian added: "We have been messed around all day after paying six hundred quid each for the tickets.
"They just milk football fans like cash cows and they don't give a stuff when it goes wrong."
Around 8,000 people flew out of the airport this morning, making it one of its busiest ever days.
Airport spokesman Robin Tudor said: "It is particularly disappointing for us, as it has been a fantastic morning with a great atmosphere among all the fans travelling to Greece.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the last flight was cancelled and this has left 150 fans absolutely devastated, quite understandably so."
Earlier up to 100 Liverpool fans fought each other on the streets of Athens today in a row over a single ticket for tonight's Champions League final.
Two supporters were injured and taken to hospital following clashes in the Greek capital.
The fight happened after a Liverpool fan produced an extra ticket, prompting an undignified scrap over who should get it.
An estimated 50,000 Liverpool fans have arrived for the final against AC Milan - but the majority do not appear to have tickets.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has pleaded with supporters for calm and "to do the right thing". He said: "All I can do is send a positive message for the fans to remain calm."
Reader views (5)
Tommy, you should know by now, we don't work up here. We have much better things to do in our glorious capital of culture. But please carry on down south, your taxes pay our benefits.
- Disco Dave, Peoples Republic of Liverpool
They'll only shame English football anyway, the more that don't travel the better, shameful, shameful people.
- Paul Mccready, Kings Cross
Somewhere in a Greek Airport, an Evertonian captain and a Mancunian pilot will be clinking tumblers of whisky together. And the game doesn't kick off for ages yet, so if I were them I'd spend less time being interviewed and more time inflating my rubber armbands.
- Shaq, Shooters Hill, London
Why aren't they at work anyway?
- Tommy Gunner, Highbury
It's fascinating that in the midst of the massively saturated media coverage not a single news channel has managed to find a Liverpool fan with a Scouse accent.
- Mark, Islington, London
