DAD Brian Lawrenson is demanding an apology from PNE after he lost his son for a frantic hour and a half in the chaos as 18,700 fans struggled to get into the ground on Saturday.

Seven-year-old Adam had to queue at a different gate to his mum and dad.

Brian got through - his son didn't. And he was not alone. As the match began, frantic parents were still searching for their children, separated from them by the queuing system.

Adults and children have to pay at different gates due to the complex computerised ticket system.

Adam, a pupil at Fulwood and Cadley Primary school, was pushed to the back of his queue and by the time Brian, of Hill Park Avenue, Fulwood, got in the stand, Adam was still outside.

Brian said: "My heart was in my mouth.

"Me and my mate Tony went out to look for him but he was nowhere to be seen. Even the police were shouting for him. Eventually I found him wandering round on his own." Now he is planning to lodge an official complaint. He says many other parents experienced the same trauma.

Alec Woods, in charge of ground safety, admitted there had been a problem due to the size of the crowd, but said all lost children had been re-united with their parents as soon as possible.

He said: "New plans to sell advance tickets would allow parents and children to enter through the same turnstiles."

At the moment parents and children can only use the same gate if they pay a £30 registration fee.

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