Dedicated Tottenham fan changes his name to Gary White Hart Lane
A TOTTENHAM fan has changed his name to add in the club's stadium White Hart Lane after almost 40 years of following the Premier League side.
The Spurs supporter, formerly known as Gary Mark Lane, used deed poll to demonstrate his devotion to the North London team.
The 55-year-old legally put the Tottenham's stadium name before his surname and he is now called Gary White Hart Lane.
The brick hod carrier and charity fundraiser said when he told his mum about the news she almost "fell over".
He said: "I'd been going for so long and my surname was already Lane.
"And I like a bit of banter. I know a lot of people at Spurs, some of them with stalls up there.
When I tell people my full name on the phone they can crack up
"That's what happens when you've been going for 40 years.
"When I tell people my full name on the phone they can crack up.
"But if it's an Arsenal or Chelsea fan they can get the hump. And when I told my mum I'd changed it, she nearly fell over."
Mr Lane, from Knaphill in Woking, said one of the reasons he choose to change his name was the tragic death of his three-year-old son Jake.
He was never able able to take his child to a Spurs game before his son's death.
Mr Lane, whose grew up in London with a father who was a Fulham fan, started going to White Hart Lane in the Seventies.
He was soon part of a group of supporters who have travelled to Tottenham matches wherever they could.
Mr Lane has travelled across Britain to see Spurs play at different grounds and has also gone to Europe and Wembley.
Despite the highs and lows he has encountered as Tottenham endured mixed results on the pitch over the years he has stayed faithful to the club.
His dedication is also shown by the Tottenham tattoos he has on his body and the Spurs cockerel statue he has by his front door.
However, if Spurs do go ahead with their plans to move from White Hart Lane to a new, larger stadium Mr Lane may be forced into changing his name again.
