A Saints fan who suffers from a heart condition met one of her heroes during a surprise tour of the St Mary's Stadium.

Shelly King, 13, from Salisbury was thrilled to meet Saints legend Matthew Le Tissier during an unexpected visit to Southampton's football ground with her parents that had been organised by Wessex Heartbeat.

The teenager recently underwent major heart surgery at Southampton General Hospital and has had countless operations and procedures during her young life.

She said: "I have always been a Saints supporter and used to watch Matt when I was younger - he is great. It has been hard having the operations but I just try to get on.

"I've had a really good time today."

Proud parents Adie and Nicky said: "We're thrilled she got the chance to have such a great morning - it's so unexpected. She has done amazingly well with her recovery."

Matt said: "Shelly is an inspiration to anyone to come out of an ordeal like that still smiling."

Heartbeat fundraising manager Peter Wickham said it was decided to set up the tour of the stadium for Shelly due to the ordeal she has been through in recent months.