An Accrington-born football fan became Stanley’s 200th shareholder after travelling almost 6,000 miles from his home in California to snap up a piece of the club.

Peter Greenhalgh, who lives in Marina del Rey, California, visited the Crown Ground to collect his 20 shares after reading about the share offer online.

He said: "My grandfather was born in 1864 and came to see Accrington play their first games after the league was founded in 1888.

He would take me to games at the Peel Park ground before the war – that’s where my affinity with the club started."

Mr Greenhalgh spent four years studying in Switzerland in his youth, before moving to Kansas City to take up an executive role with American firm Trans World Airlines.

He said: "During my time in Switzerland I made sure I kept up with the scores by rushing to the newsagents every Sunday to buy a newspaper and check the back pages – if Stanley won, it was a good day. If they lost, I was unhappy."

Mr Greenhalgh chatted to chairman Ilyas Khan’s brother Idris and members of the Stanley board and management team during his eagerly-anticipated visit to the ground.

He praised manager John Coleman, citing him as an example to other football managers for doing "a wonderful job with a limited budget".

Stanley has now sold more than 400 shares in the club – double its original Christmas target set for the scheme – with shareholders spanning the globe.