Stephen Allinson outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)

An Everton fan has been banned from Hill Dickinson Stadium after he was accused of trying to steal a row of seats from Goodison Park as a "memento". Stephen Allinson was charged with attempted theft and criminal damage in relation to an incident on May 3 this year, when the Toffees hosted Ipswich Town in the historic ground's penultimate men's game.

The 65-year-old, of Royal Oak Lane in Pirton, Hertfordshire, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon, Wednesday, in order to face these charges. Wearing a black suit over a white shirt and blue tie and sporting short grey hair and glasses in the dock, he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and deny both counts during a brief hearing.

Iain Criddle, prosecuting, told the court that the charges related to Allinson allegedly "trying to take seats from Goodison Park at one of the last games of the season as a memento". Judge Neil Flewitt KC remarked that he "presumably didn't want to pay £90 that the club was charging".

Allinson's own counsel Jonathan...