TWO lifelong Oxford United fans have raised more than £1,000 for their beloved team’s 12th Man fund by selling match programmes.

Workmates Michael North and Richard Hanna spend hours before and after games voluntarily selling the past programmes outside the Kassam Stadium, all to boost manager Chris Wilder’s transfer coffers in the fund.

The 12th Man was set up by fans to donate money to pay for new players and their relocation fees.

And the club has been so impressed with the dedication of the pair, who rarely miss a game, it has enlisted their help to complete its own archive.

Mr North, 47, from Blackbird Leys, said the idea first came to him last October after a friend had asked him to pick up a programme from the club shop.

He said: “When I got there they told me they don’t sell them any more and I had to go to the ticket office.

“You can imagine what queuing up at the ticket office on match day was like.

“I just thought there could be some money in this.

“After asking around people soon started giving me boxes and boxes of their old programmes which had just been lying in their attics.”

Searching through the boxes the pair, who work together at the John Radcliffe Hospital’s radiography department, discovered programmes from other games, including many Wembley Cup Finals, and Mr Hanna has been turning over a tidy profit for the fund by selling them via eBay.

The pair were able to convince Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to sign a copy of the programme from his first game in charge – famously a 2-0 Oxford win at the old Manor Ground in 1986 – boosting its value to more than £80.

Mr Hanna, 28, from Bicester, said: “I know Michael from work and going to Oxford United games, and just decided to help out.

“I can’t believe how much it has grown since we started out.

“It’s for a great cause so hopefully we will continue to grow and make loads of money for the 12th Man fund.”

Club spokesman Chris Williams said: “I would like to thank them on behalf of the club and players.”

The 12th Man fund has raised about £34,000.

It was used to bring in new players including Jamie Cook and Anthony Tonkin.