Everton fan, 14, makes mascot history

Jack McLinden has made football history

Jack McLinden, a 14-year-old Everton fan, has made history by becoming football's first mascot to experience walking out on the pitch with his team via the use of a robot.

He has health problems and uses oxygen 24 hours a day, which means that he can never go to a match in person - even though he lives really close to the ground.

So Everton captain Phil Jagielka carried the robot - called AV1 - onto the pitch, which fed live images and sound back to Jack's tablet.

Everton captain Phil Jagielka carried the robot onto the pitch at the start of the game so that Jack McLinden could experience being a mascot

AV1 also had a microphone which meant Jack could chat to the players while they were in the Goodison Park tunnel, ahead of their game against Newcastle United on Monday night.

The robot was made by a company called No Isolation, which works to help young people who have health problems to overcome feeling lonely and to attend school from their homes.

No Isolation boss Karen Dolva explained: "For Jack, the dream of being a mascot for his favourite football club was not likely to happen given his condition."

His mum said that what had happened with the robot was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" for Jack.