Football fan pleads guilty after mocking mascot Bradley Lowery at Sheffield Wednesday match

A man has admitted a public order offence after mocking football mascot, Bradley Lowery, at a Sheffield Wednesday match.

Sunderland fan Bradley captured the nation's heart during his battle with neuroblastoma, but succumbed to the illness aged six in 2017.

Dale Houghton, 31, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates' Court following an incident at Sheffield Wednesday's clash with Sunderland on Friday.

The judge called his actions "utterly deplorable".

Bradley was a mascot for his beloved club and, in the months before his death, led England out at Wembley alongside former Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe.

Houghton, from Rotherham, was bailed and will be sentenced on November 17.

Part of his bail conditions mean he can't go to a football match in the UK or within a mile of Hillsborough stadium on match day.

District Judge James Gould told him "your actions are utterly deplorable" and that all sentence options were open, including a prison sentence.

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