Daniel Steptoe, pictured with his dad Vince, organised flights and coaches for almost 200 fans ahead of the Europa League final (Image: Laura Blyth)
Daniel Steptoe, pictured with his dad Vince, organised flights and coaches for almost 200 fans ahead of the Europa League final (Image: Laura Blyth)
The partner of the vice-chair of the Suffolk Spurs supporters' club has said she is "so proud" after he secured flights for almost 200 fans to the Europa League final.
Laura Blyth, partner of Daniel Steptoe, has praised his "truly selfless" act after arranging a charter flight to Bilbao to watch their beloved Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United on Wednesday night.
Frustrated with how travel companies had inflated their prices ahead of the crunch game, Mr Steptoe took matters into his own hands to arrange flights, coaches and other travel for all fans hoping to take their seats.
Just shy of 200 fans from Suffolk took to the skies on Wednesday ahead of the final
Just shy of 200 fans from Suffolk took to the skies on Wednesday ahead of the final
(Image: Laura Blyth) Miss Blyth said: "He just pulled off something incredible - he felt like travel companies were taking advantage of passionate fans, so he took matters into his own hands.
"He organised the chartering of 189 fans, including his dad, to get to the game. I thought doing something like this was incredibly brave.
"The journey hasn’t been easy. Collecting payments from all the wonderful trusting Spurs fans was just the first hurdle.
Mr Steptoe organised travel for the whole group, in protest to travel companies inflating their prices
Mr Steptoe organised travel for the whole group in protest of travel companies inflating their prices
(Image: Laura Blyth) "We faced competitors buying out our original plane on more than one occasion, businesses trying to block us, funding accounts being frozen, having to arrange landing in an alternate airport (Vitoria) and booking coaches, even a report to the Civil Air Association which really scared us.
"At one point we thought we’d lost £90,000 and we would have to re-mortgage the house.
"But Dan never gave up. He worked day and night to get this off the ground, literally, we were determined not top let all these people down.
The Suffolk Spurs Supporters Club usually meet to watch games in the Gardener's Arms in Ipswich
The Suffolk Spurs supporters' club usually meets to watch games in the Gardeners Arms in Ipswich (Image: Laura Blyth)
"But this morning the plane full of excited fans took off and then the entire cabin starting singing 'There's only one Daniel Steptoe!' and hearing about it brought tears to my eyes.
"I just want to say how unbelievably proud I am of him - and I know his whole family feels the same. He’s done something truly selfless for the love of the game and the local fan community.
"Instead of passing the unexpected extra costs on to passengers, Daniel encouraged donations to Inspire Suffolk, and so far we’ve raised £345."
The Suffolk Spurs supporters' club usually meets at the Gardeners Arms in Ipswich to watch their side play if they can't make it to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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