A rugby league super fan is preparing to take to the pitch on Challenge Cup final day.

Lifelong Workington Town supporter David Hill will join 31 other fans from clubs across the country to form a special choir led by television presenter and singer Aled Jones.

The choir will perform a stirring rendition of Abide With Me in front of the capacity crowd at Wembley before kick-off.

David, from Seaton, won his place in the fans’ choir in a competition organised by BBC’s Songs of Praise.

Choir members had to demonstrate their passion for the game and their club.

David’s wife Judith helped him submit a 300-word nomination.

It said: “David has supported our local team, Workington Town, since his dad took him and sat him on the dugout roof with a bottle of milk at the age of 18 months.

“When Town have requested volunteers due to bad weather, David has been the first with his pitchfork and wellington boots to help clear water off the pitch.

“Once in the 1970s, he also helped to bail straw from the pitch, which had been put on to prevent frost. This was to ensure a game being televised by the BBC against St Helens went ahead.”

David is also a former amateur player but had to retire through injury when he was 36. He later went on to represent England over-35s in touch rugby, playing in the world cup in Australia.

The nomination concluded: “For him to be able to sing Abide With Me – a song that means so much to Rugby League and its supporters - at Wembley would be an amazing and proud experience for David.”

The 32 winners each represent a different club that was part of this year’s Challenge Cup and are a mix of male and female supporters.

Four members of the choir are still at school while the oldest is 84.

The Challenge Cup final will be shown live on BBC One on Saturday, August 27.

The choir will also appear in a special edition of Songs of Praise following their journey. It will be broadcast the following day, on August 28.

Tommy Nagra, the BBC’s head of television, religion and ethics at Salford, said: “We said when we launched the competition that Rugby League fans were some of the most passionate out there and we weren’t disappointed.”

Choir members were chosen by a panel of experts including West End star Connie Fisher, Leeds Rhinos and England Rugby League player Jamie-Jones Buchanan, BBC Sports presenter Tanya Arnold, and Lizzie Jones, who memorably sang before last year’s Challenge Cup Final in memory of her husband.