A NI couple who wanted to fulfill their sons' dream of watching the Liverpool team play at Anfield were left heartbroken by a ticket scammer.
Edele McGirr and husband Declan decided to give their sons a special Christmas gift and organise a trip to watch Liverpool FC, reports Liverpool ECHO.
Brothers Seth, 12 and Jack, 23, could not control their excitement when they found out they would be travelling to the Reds' Champions League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Read more: Co Down boy's tears turn to cheers as familiar faces salvage dream Anfield trip
But the journey from Northern Ireland turned into a nightmare after the person supplying the four tickets disappeared.
Mum Edele told the ECHO her husband was introduced to the unknown man through his work as a bathroom salesperson and once talking, was offered to chance to buy four tickets.
She said: "He guaranteed us four tickets and originally my two boys, husband and brother-in-law were supposed to go but my brother-in-law has had a hip replacement so I came along.
"We got to Liverpool yesterday [Monday] after visiting family in Nottingham. and it's been one disaster after another."
Facing initial issues with their Airbnb, Edele said more stress came when they had still not been sent the tickets they bought, despite repeatedly trying to contact the seller.
She had said: "The boys are distraught. It's their dream and they are devastated.
"Even today [Tuesday] my husband has been trying to contact this man but he's not responding...
"It's devastating, my son couldn't even eat breakfast this morning."
Both Seth and Jack have been life-long LFC supporters, with Edele supporting Liverpool ever since she met her husband.
Edele said: "I don't know what's happened. Declan won't tell me how much he's paid because I'll probably cry but I'm heart-broken for my two boys..."
She added: "We ummed and ahhed last week whether or not to make the trip but I have an aunt and uncle in Nottingham so we went there before coming to Liverpool..."
Edele continued: "We'd urge people to be very careful, we heard a family from Belfast caught the ferry last week, the tickets were on the father's phone, but when they went to scan it, it wouldn't work. If it wasn't for the kindness of two strangers who gave their tickets, the wee boy was crying outside.
"I believe the kindness of others makes the world go around but unfortunately there's a few people who don't have that kindness in their hearts."
Determined to make the most of their trip before returning home, the Echo said the family planned to head to Anfield to "soak up the atmosphere" last night.
LFC urge people to take care when purchasing tickets, to buy from official sellers only, and to understand how to identify a forgery. According to the website, it is illegal to sell, or to offer to sell, tickets to Liverpool FC matches without the authorisation of Liverpool FC.
The website reads: "Liverpool FC is committed to tackling ticket touting, and those individuals that fraudulently harvest tickets/memberships to sell at vastly inflated prices. Liverpool FC have a dedicated team that investigate both online and offline illegal ticket sales and use a range of tactics and enforcement measures that help to combat ticket touting."
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