The bricks connecting football fans to their club

Tom Kelly was gifted a brick on the wall by his uncle in August 2005

When Tom Kelly was born, his great-uncle bought him a brick.

Not an unusual birth present but instead, a personalised brick bought by his Coventry City FC mad relative in a wall at his beloved team's home football ground.

He's not alone - across the UK, thousands of football fans have sponsored bricks or paving stones at their team's stadiums, including at Sunderland's Stadium of Light and Celtic Park in Glasgow, as a way of celebrating special occasions.

In Coventry, 4,500 fans were given that chance with their bricks engraved on the Sky Blues Wall of Fame at the CBS Arena, then named the Ricoh, in August 2005.

Why do it and what do these bricks mean to families and their fans? Several shared their stories with us:

The brick to remember a great-uncle

Tom Kelly's great-uncle bought him the brick to mark his birth

Tom Kelly, 20, from Finham, Coventry, is the man whose brick on the wall was bought for his birth by his great-uncle Dave, who died when he was young.

A Sky Blues fan since he was a child, Mr Kelly said the brick gave him a reason to remember his late uncle, who used to take him and his dad to games when they were younger.

"Loads of fans knew him, loads around the club knew him, he'd be on every away-day travel coach, he'd be in and around the ground, so he purchased the brick for me before he passed away," he said.

For Mr Kelly, football goes beyond being a sport as it also give a chance for him to go and spend time with family and "random people".

"I think some things in life aren't certain but being a Coventry City fan for the rest of my life certainly is," he said.

The brick to let a father live on

Kate Cooper's brick remembers her father - Paul Averns died in October 2006, after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He was a "huge" Sky Blues fan, she said, and had been diagnosed around the time when the brick scheme at the arena was first announced.

"My brother brought him a brick," Ms Cooper, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, explained.

"We weren't even sure if it was going to be in there in time for my dad to see it but it was, so it was put in there just before he passed away."

Ms Cooper said her dad was tearful and emotional when he found out about the brick and appreciated he was going to live on through his club, his "favourite thing in the world".

Mr Averns ashes were also scattered on the pitch.

"Towards the end of his life, he used to like going up there [the stadium], he was very proud of the fact he had a brick up there, it made him feel quite famous I think," Ms Cooper said.

"To me, I just feel like I'm part of a family and I'm really proud that that started with my dad and he's carrying on through the rest of us."

The brick connecting a son to his dad

Ian Lissaman, centre, has two bricks at the arena, including one for his dad who died in 2003

Ian Lissaman's late dad was a carpenter who worked on some of the restoration of Coventry City's former ground, Highfield Road, in the 1960s, when the main stand was damaged in a fire.

A lifelong Sky Blues fan, Mr Lissaman and his dad both have personalised bricks at the arena.

The 53-year-old, from Stoke Aldermoor, said he always goes to visit the bricks every time he goes to the stadium.

"He died in 2003, so before the CBS was built, so I just felt it important that he was part of the journey and, you know, carried on his support of the Coventry City family," Mr Lissaman said.

"I wish he was here to see it for himself but knowing the bricks there is some comfort."

The family's love for the the Sky Blues has surpassed generations, with Mr Lissaman's own granddaughter, Eva, 13, also "obsessed" with football.

A massive Coventry fan, she has been watching the team play for the last four seasons and credits her granddad for her love of the club.

"He kind of just got me obsessed with football and I don't know what I'd do without my granddad at the football and everything," she said.

The brick for a Canadian fan

For Keith Reay, 61, his brick is all about reconnecting from far away as his love for the Sky Blues spans 40 years - and more than 4,000 miles.

Originally from Coventry, the die-hard fan emigrated to Alberta, Canada, 22 years ago but still flies back to England to see his favourite team play a few times a year.

"Every year I buy a new shirt, new scarf...I had a season ticket for 25 years before I emigrated to Canada," he said.

"I get back whenever I can. These last few years I've been back two or three times a year and it's cost me an absolute fortune."

Mr Reay has a brick after first falling in love with the Sky Blues when his father took him to see Coventry play Newcastle in 1969.

He said he still misses the city "incredibly" and had been back to visit his personalised brick after a fellow Coventry supporter on the internet discovered its location.

"He told me where it was, so the last two times I've been back, I made a point of looking out for my brick, found it, [had] my picture taken with it, and it's lovely," he added.

Mr Reay flies from Canada to watch the Sky Blues play a few times a year