A longstanding campaign to secure a permanent memorial to an amateur footballing legend will soon be brought to a successful close.

Fans of St Albans City had been pushing for a headstone to be erected on the unmarked grave where club hero Wilfred ‘Billy’ Minter lies.

They have had to obtain the relevant paperwork and have launched a JustGiving page to pay for the monument to the man who scored 356 goals in 362 games for City.

Minter, who won three amateur caps for England, died aged 86 in 1985 and, for some unknown reason, was buried without a proper headstone.

Now almost 33 years later, thanks to the efforts of these dedicated fans, permission has been granted for the permanent memorial to be put in place.

According to Dave Tavener, who works for the club, the search led them to one of Minter’s nephew’s, Bryan Chapman, who had bought the plot of land where the goalscoring great was buried.

After a couple of knockbacks in terms of gaining permission for the plot, or in locating the owner, they managed to get in touch with his son, Bill.

Bill, who has accepted responsibility for his father’s affairs, put everything in place and was more than happy to help out.

Another £900 is required to meet the cost of the memorial and it is hoped that it will be in place for November 22.

This date represents the 95th anniversary of Minter scoring seven goals in an FA Cup match and still ending up on the losing side.

To donate to the headstone campaign, click here.