A group of friends crafted and delivered some life-size dolls to their mate so that he wouldn't be alone to watch the Euro 2020 final after testing positive for Covid.
Chris Pope was isolating after getting a positive result on Friday (9 July) followed by another PCR test on Saturday.
This meant his plans to watch the game on Sunday (11 July) with his pals were ruined.
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Chris said he was 'gutted' when it dawned on him that he'd be friend-less for the final, adding: "You want to be around your mates after the year we've had, it's been the one good thing, watching the football."
Chris's friends were just as devastated that he would be alone to watch the match and decided not to let that happen. We all need some pals like this.
They soon hatched a plan to create puppet versions of themselves made out of pillows, newspaper and tights, each with a cut-out picture of their face and wearing their actual clothes.
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While making the puppets on Saturday, the group decided to leave them at Chris' door and ring him to tell him that 'they' were waiting outside for him.
Chris's friend Rory Cocker said: "We wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. We had to sneak up the side of the house and we just left them there. Jack rang him and said, mate can we come in but Chris was like, no what are you on about I've got Covid.
"We told him it's fine - he opened the door and he's got his three mates sitting there."
Rory and Chris have known each other since they were 16 and have spent years watching football matches and shared their love for Preston North End.
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Together, the group had watched all the Euros games thanks to Chris' determination to get them all out.
Rory went on: "We've watched hundreds of games together so it was gutting we weren't going to watch it together."
When he opened his door to see the three figures slumped against his fence, Chris said he just burst out laughing in shock.
He said: "I couldn't believe the effort they'd gone to to be honest. It was so funny because they were actually really good - I was just laughing my head off.
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"I loved it because they clearly thought about me and I'm buzzing that they went to that much effort."
Featured Image Credit: MEN MediaTopics: covid, Euro 2020, UK Community, Coronavirus, Community, UK