Patriotic football fans desperate to show their support for their team have snapped up all the England football strips in Bradford.

In a rush of World Cup fever, the soccer fanatics have emptied the shelves of the city's sports shops so they can look the business while watching the England team perform on the television.

The buying bonanza is not just restricted to the district - it has spread all over the country, leaving the shirts' manufacturer Umbro feeling rather pleased.

Some smaller sizes of the country's colours and the 'away' kit are still available in the shops but the adult 'Home' kit, the famous white shirt with the three lions emblem, has completely sold out.

Richard Smith of Sportsshoes Unlimited in the city centre said: "We've completely sold out of England home shirts. I don't think anywhere in Bradford has got any left.

"A couple of weeks ago we had a sale and we sold 41 in one day. We were the only place in town which had the Scotland shirts but they've sold out as well."

And it was the same story at Willis Walker sports shop in Cavendish Street, Keighley. A spokesman said: "We've sold out of all the white shirts completely. We ordered the England shirts nine months in advance.

"In the past we've stocked Germany, Holland, and Spain, but we seemed to struggle to sell them. We have got Brazil and Italy shirts and they've sold well this time I think because we've got a lot of Italians in the area and because of the flair of the Brazilian team."

Sales of the 'Home' strip have been so prolific at JJB Sports in Forster Square that stocks in its main warehouse have also been cleared out.

The shop's supervisor said: "The sales have been brilliant; we've actually sold out from our main warehouse.

"A couple of weeks ago we put out 100 England shirts and they went within an hour. They're selling like hot cakes."

And Tony Thornton who runs T.T. Sports & Leisure in Towngate, Wyke, said his shop had sold out of the 'Home' strip last week but he was expecting a fresh delivery this week.

Umbro's Sports Marketing Manager Simon Marsh said the shirt sales had started much sooner than they'd expected but they were keeping up with demand.

He added: "We looked at our experience in Euro '96 and the take up by the customers didn't happen until the early stages of the competition.

"It's been completely different for the World Cup. England shirts started selling six weeks before it even began and it's just gone on from their. Sales of the Scotland strip have also been fantastic."

Frustrated fans who have failed to buy a shirt need not fear. According to Mr Marsh, the current England strip will be on sale until the summer of 1999 when it will be redesigned.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.