Club News

'This is our lottery'

LIFELONG Albion fan and budding photographer Luke Simmons is this week revelling in his dream photo-shoot - a matchday at The Hawthorns.

The 23-year-old, who has autism and a learning disability, is determined to pursue his dream of a photographic career and the Baggies were equally eager to give him a helping hand.

And what better way then to give Luke the chance to shadow our official club photographer Adam Fradgley on a matchday?

Luke was given exclusive back-stage access as well as a prime, pitch-side position to compile his own pictorial record of all the action on and off the pitch from the game against Blackburn Rovers.

You can check out some of his work here in our video of Luke's special day out but his mum Nina Simmons was overwhelmed by the response from the Club after she enquired about his gaining some photography experience.

"If somebody said I'd won the lottery, I wouldn't have bothered," she said.

"This has just topped everything. The lottery wouldn't mean anything to me. This is just our lottery.

"We can't thank the club enough. It's a dream come true, for the family really."

'Fradge', an award-winner whose work is regularly acclaimed by Baggies fans, was impressed with the young man's ambition and was pleased that Luke had taken encouragement and inspiration from the day.

"He's been very, very polite, very pleasant," he said. "I hope his work isn't too good or I might be out of a job!

"He's had a nice look around behind the scenes, places where fans wouldn't normally get to go.

"He's certainly got a very big ambition with photography."

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