Young Stoke City fan remembered with shirt tribute

Team-mates of a 14-year-old boy who died from a rare skin disorder have lined up at a Stoke City match to pay tribute to him.

Rafe Lawton, from Talke, Staffordshire, died in July after he was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Players from Kidsgrove Saints & Alsager FC, with shirts containing the Stoke fan's name, stood by the edge of the pitch before the game with Hull City.

Supporters also applauded in the 14th minute of the home match.

In February last year, Rafe, who also played for his school, fell ill after developing a skin rash and was later admitted to Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.

The NHS says Stevens-Johnson syndrome, sometimes called toxic epidermal necrolysis, is a rare condition that can be caused by taking certain medicines.

After he was admitted to hospital, Rafe was unable to breathe without a ventilator and his parents made the decision to turn off his life support machine 18 months later.

At the game on Sunday, which Stoke lost 3-1, the boy's father, Chris Lawton, was presented with a shirt that said "Rafe we'll be with you always".

BBC Radio Stoke presenter Phil Bowers described the tribute before the match as a "very emotional moment", after explaining that the Bet365 Stadium had "come together in memory of Rafe".

He added that members of the teenager's team "with white shirts with Rafe and number 7 written on the back" were lined up alongside the edge of the pitch.

The applause before the game came from Stoke supporters and "from the Hull City fans as well, which is a fitting tribute to a young man taken from us very, very young".

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