By Dave Woodhall.

There’s an old saying that you should never let the facts get in the way of a good story. We’ve seen a prime example of that today.

The Birmingham Mail has been running a story about how a homeless tramp has been living in the Holte End at Villa Park for some time with the club’s security staff unaware of his existence. The story went on to say that the man would sneak in and out of the ground under cover of darkness and survived on food stolen from kiosks or thrown away on matchday. He had also apparently been seen in the pubs around the ground, with one regular saying “No-one believed him when he claimed he was living.”

Neither the club nor West Midlands Police said they had any record of the man or of any such incident. However, a club official did give an alternative story.

A couple of weeks ago a man was found sleeping rough on the steps leading to the Holte End turnstiles. The man, a Ukrainian with a UK passport, was hitch-hiking his way around various football grounds and when discovered said he was willing to spend the night in nearby Aston Park. As this was thought to be dangerous, Villa security staff agreed to let him sleep on the steps where he had been found, and where he could be observed by the club’s CCTV cameras. The following day he watched Villa play Blackburn Rovers and departed after the game, believed to be headed for Munich.

And that’s the story. No homeless tramp living a Quasimodo-type existence in the bowels of a modern football stadium. No perpetual game of hide and seek to avoid capture and survive. Just one football supporter who turned up a few hours early for a game and security men did the right thing by letting him stay where he was safest. And the reason why the man claiming to be the secret resident wasn’t believed is that either he wasn’t telling the truth, or else he just doesn’t exist. But don’t let that fact get in the way…..