Euro 2020: England badge removed from Angel of the North

The badge was put up by a rope access specialist

The Angel of the North was briefly seen to be backing England's football team - before police intervened.

The Three Lions' emblem was attached to the 60ft (20m) Sir Antony Gormley sculpture in Gateshead during the early hours of Saturday.

However, no sooner was it up, three officers arrived and demanded it be removed, citing safety concerns.

Ben Fada, a rope access specialist who was involved, said it was intended to raise a smile ahead of Sunday's final.

England take on Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley at 20:00 BST.

Santa hat and poppy

Mr Fada said it was "disheartening" to have to take the England badge down but he understood why police intervened.

"You've got to understand from their point of view as well, they're just looking out for everyone," he said.

"They didn't know I was specialist with 20 years experience."

The group did not have permission to put the badge on the structure.

In the past they have put on similar projects, marking Armistice Day in 2020 by attaching a poppy to the Angel's chest, and in 2018 gave it a Father Christmas hat.

Officers patrolling nearby were alterted to what was happening and ordered the badge to be taken down

While not a huge football fan, Mr Fada said he had been enjoying watching the tournament with his family.

But he admitted he will have mixed feelings if England emerge victorious on Sunday.

"I think they're going to win and I'm going to be devastated because the Angel's not going to have a badge on it," he said.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "At around 01:15 on Saturday police were contacted about a group of people erecting the England badge on the Angel of the North.

"Officers patrolling nearby attended and had concerns those involved were putting themselves in danger and asked them to remove the badge, and come back down.

"We are as excited as everyone else is for the big game but hopefully the Three Lions will have us flying high without the need for anyone to scale the region's tallest structures."

How can I follow the Euro 2020 final?

You can watch England v Italy live on BBC One. The match kicks-off at 20:00 BST tonight, but starts at 18:20.

You can also stream the match via BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport live page.

For radio listeners, build up to the match will begin on BBC Radio 5 Live from 18:00, with live commentary from 20:00.