One hardy Norwich City supporter has demonstrated his passion for the Canaries – by queuing overnight for more than nine hours to get tickets for the club's upcoming League Cup quarter-final.

Tickets for City's Capital One Cup clash with Aston Villa went on general sale at 9am yesterday morning.

But Simon Crawford, of Clifton Close, off Old Palace Road in Norwich, made 100pc sure that he would get his tickets by starting to queue at 11.15pm the night before.

Around 40 City supporters had joined the 53-year-old in the queue by 9am, with the majority starting to arrive at 7.30am.

The Tuesday, December 11 clash with Villa will be City's first League Cup quarter-final in 17 years and has the added spice of their opponents being managed by former Canaries boss Paul Lambert.

City supporters on Twitter were also reporting phone queues for the club's ticket office being almost 100 deep, so there was plenty of demand for the match.

Mr Crawford, who said he had cooked some bacon and eggs using a camping stove in the early hours, said: 'I've queued up for tickets like this before but I've never been the first in the queue.

'When we played Villa the other week I think Lambert got a good reception and plenty of respect, but as far as I'm concerned, this time the gloves are off.

'I work nights as rapid response for social services so I can only come to games now and again, so I thought I'd come down here and make sure I got tickets for me and my missus.'

The club had been criticised for its high ticket prices in the previous round, a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur that cost �30 for adults to attend.

So the club's management decided to drop prices for the Villa match and are charging �25 for adults, �15 for over-65s and �5 for under-16s.

David Powell, from Attleborough, was the first to join Mr Crawford in the queue, at 4.45am. The 42-year-old has a spinal condition which means he requires certain seats at Carrow Road so often queues early for his tickets.

Mr Powell arrived at Carrow Road at 4.45am and is hopeful that City will be able to get the win against Villa, saying: 'We had a bit of a dodgy start under Hughton but we are now starting to pick up.

'It will be nice to see Lambert back here, you can't ever take away the success he had here in his three years.'

- Have you got a quirky story for the Evening News? Contact reporter David Freezer on 01603 772418 or david.freezer@archant.co.uk