THE family of a nine-year-old Blackburn Rovers supporter whose season ticket lapsed while he was in a coma have been left with a desperate scramble to get one of the sought-after Worthington Cup Final tickets.

Steven Berry, of Whittle-le-Woods, had been a Rovers' season ticket holder all season until he fell into a diabetic coma in October last year.

The coma, which itself only lasted a few hours, was the start of a string of medical problems which meant Steven was in and out of hospital for the next three months.

It meant he could not attend any games and so the family cancelled their payments for the season ticket.

The family could not buy one of the cup final tickets reserved for season ticket holders and will have to try their chance with others.

Steven's father, David Berry, said his younger son was gutted when he came out of hospital and discovered he might not be able to go to the final.

"He has had a really bad three or four months. Because we weren't able to get to any games, and the season ticket was on a direct debit, we cancelled it.

"We couldn't believe it when we found out we might not get tickets because we weren't season ticket holders any more.

"We had been members all season until Steven went into hospital but then we just couldn't go to the games.

"Steven has really been in the wars for the past few months. At the hospital we were told to keep him quiet for a while after everything he'd gone through, so we didn't think he should go to any games.

"Now he is desperate to go and it feels very unfair."

Steven's medical problems included a six-hour operation on his ear, which also resulted in a lengthy stay in hospital.

The family had not known that he was a diabetic until he lapsed into the coma in October. He also suffered a second coma a few days later.

David added that the family, including Steven's 12-year-old brother Shane, had been season ticket holders for many years, beginning with his own membership in 1973.

A spokesman for the club said: "We are aware of the situation and we are hoping that we can look at this application in a favourable light."

Management say there are around 29,000 tickets available for the match, with the 14,000 season ticket holders being given the first opportunity to buy.

The rest are going on sale in stages.