Blackburn Rovers fans mark club's 150th year

Ian Snape organised a collective lap of the pitch to mark 150 years of Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers fans from a group which supports people affected by dementia and Alzheimer's have marked the club's 150th birthday by doing a collective lap of Ewood Park.

The Remember the Rovers group is designed to reduce social isolation by encouraging participants to rekindle memories of football.

Members gathered at the ground to walk the lap to mark when the club was founded in November 1875. It was organised by lifelong Rovers fan Ian Snape.

It was part of a series of special celebrations at the club this week, which will continue after the match against Derby County on Saturday when the Blackburn Rovers Legends take on Old Etonians, re-living an historic rivalry dating back to the 1880s.

Alan Shearer and Jack Walker celebrate winning the Premier League title at Anfield, on 14 May 1995

Rovers said the commemorative match would honour their FA Cup heritage – having lifted the trophy six times – and bring together some familiar faces in blue-and-white halves including Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Dunn and Kevin Gallacher.

Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association on 28 September 1878.

It then became one of only 12 founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won five FA Cup finals in the 19th century: 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890 and 1891.

The team was crowned English League champions in 1911-12 and 1913-14, then won a sixth FA Cup in 1928.

Rovers lifted the Full Members' Cup at Wembley in 1987 thanks to a Colin Hendry winner and returned to the national stadium in 1992, where they gained promotion to the top flight, becoming a founder member of the newly-formed Premier League.

On 14 May 1995, four years after finishing 19th in the old Division Two, Blackburn Rovers were crowned champions of England after pipping Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United by one point under Kenny Dalglish's stewardship.

The current Rovers side play in the Championship.