Euro 2020: Diehard England fan from Waterlooville's warning after contracting Covid 'at Trafalgar Square fan zone'

Football-mad Marc Fewell, 41, said he knew he was taking a risk of watching Gareth Southgate’s men win over Germany alongside thousands of fans in London.

He thought that risk was outweighed by having been double vaccinated with the Pfizer jab. The Waterlooville dad thought he was fully protected.

But after going on to suffer so badly with the virus that he could barely lift a finger to celebrate the 2-1 win over Denmark, he is warning others what Covid can do.

He watched the match in London on June 29 having visited his mother-in-law in Putney.

He still felt fine after the win against Ukraine on July 2 and was ‘bopping around’ in Asda Havant with a few boxes of beers under his arms.

Marc then started to feel unwell. What followed two days later was ‘one of the worst experiences of my life,’ the Tottenham fan said. ‘It was like the worst influenza attack I’ve ever had mixed with glandular fever.

‘My bones were aching when I was having a fever, my bones felt like they were on fire, I had a sore throat and sweat.

‘I would jump out of bed to do something normal, within seconds I would have a penetrative cold and all I could think about was getting into bed and having something on my head to get the cold away.’

Marc, who has travelled the world watching England play, tested positive for Covid in a lateral flow test and at the Havant test centre after being told he had to go for a PCR test.

He is now in a virtual Covid ward with medics carrying out daily checks on him.

‘The stuff you take for granted wears you out,’ he said. ‘For me an achievement is being able to get out of bed, go downstairs, make a cup of coffee and back without getting out of breath.

‘The serious bit is the breathlessness, you start losing that one - your mind starts playing games with you.’

Marc said as awful as he feels, he is most distraught at seeing his wife Lucy, 43, come down with Covid. She felt unwell during the Denmark game and had to stop watching. He said: ‘The next morning she was broken.’

The pair’s 17-year-old daughter Ellie has tested negative but they are keeping a close watch as she is under the weather.

Marc said: ‘I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to see Germany with thousands and thousands of other English nutters but it was really hard because I’ve got this breathing situation.

‘It was hard for me to watch England’s most important game (against Denmark) and not celebrate. Little humble me was in my living room with my finger monitor on. I couldn’t get excited.

‘I went in (to Trafalgar Square) with my eyes open, everyone knows the risk and I took that risk and I’ve come unstuck for it - but that’s my gear to wear.’

The fan zone has capacity for more than 1,000 people. Calls for something similar in Portsmouth have been refused by council leaders.

Marc added: ‘I’m not teaching anyone how to suck eggs but there are a lot of people posting and thinking the same as me, I’ve had my double jab and I thought I was good to go - maybe I’m a bit naive.

‘I wouldn’t be a responsible human being in society if I didn’t say “you need to have a think”.

‘This is my Covid experience, I’m not telling anyone to have a jab, or not to have a jab, wear or not wear a tin foil hat, all I’m saying is this has happened to me.

‘I just want people to have a story where they can make their own educated opinions.’

Government advice for those who are vaccinated is to ‘continue to take recommended precautions to avoid infection’.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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