New plaque for Coventry City's old stadium

Lionel Bird, left, and Pete Witherow, right, were among a group of Coventry City supporters involved in the installation of the new plaque

A new plaque has been installed to mark the site of Coventry City's former Highfield Road stadium after the original was vandalised and stolen.

It was unveiled at Signet Square in the city at about 11:00 BST on Monday on the 125th anniversary of the club's first game at their former home.

The new plaque commemorates the Sky Blues' 106-year history at Highfield Road between 1899 and 2005 before they moved to what was then called the Ricoh Arena.

Pete Witherow, one of a group of fans behind the memorial, said they have "wonderful memories" of the former stadium.

The installation was organised by club historian Jim Brown, author Lionel Bird and a number of other club supporters and city council employees.

Mr Witherow said the old plaque, installed in 2014, was in a “sorry state” and people had been asking what had happened to it.

The new memorial was a "focal point", he added and "people can come and look at it and feel very proud that it’s happened".

The new plaque is made of black granite and includes the club’s official badge

The plaque, made of black granite, bears the club’s official badge and wording which was on the original.

Mr Witherow said company Planet Granite, who are also Coventry City fans, had done a “great job” on the plaque.

“I can’t thank them enough," he said.

“They’re the real heroes,” Mr Bird added. “They’ve provided the materials, done all the work and that.

“Me and Pete have just been involved in the administration side of it...it does give us great pleasure to be here today."

He told the BBC he was "very pleased" and recalled memories of the ground from several decades ago.

“When Coventry were elected to the second division of the football league in 1919, it was Alec Mercer who scored in the 3-1 home defeat against Birmingham so that was the first football league goal scored here,” he said.