Whitby football fan speaks of her night at Wembley to see Euro 2020 final between England and Italy

Tamanie Ingledew has been lucky enough to see all England s Euro 2020 games at Wembley but said for the final, there were more people than ticket holders which created a problem with the riot police getting involved as people tried to storm their way in.

It meant she couldn't get into the stadium at one point and said some people were "excitable and OTT" and it was not the family-friendly atmosphere the final should have been.

However, she was okay once inside the stadium, and enjoyed the closing ceremony which featured the Red Arrows, a light show and pyrotechnics.

England, who had reached the final after an extra time victory over Denmark, made a dream start when defender Luke Shaw netted inside the first two minutes to leave Wembley in uproar and get the whole country dreaming.

Tamanie, a Liverpool fan, described the atmosphere after the opening goal as being on a par with the Reds' 4-0 win over Barcelona, overturning a three-goal deficit from the first leg to reach the Champions League final two years ago.

"The atmosphere was like that, everyone was singing and jumping and everyone believed it was coming home," she said.

"Everyone thought that was it.

"But as England sat deeper in the second half, the mood in the crowd changed.

"People started stressing and panicking."

The Italians levelled midway through the second half through Leonardo Bonucci after a spell of sustained pressure.

The two sides could not be separated after extra time, with Italy eventually emerging victorious from a tense penalty shoot-out.

England losing to Italy on penalties was a familiar experience for Tamanie, though, as she was in Kiev for the Euro 2012 competition when the same thing happened.

"I said if we don't win in the 90 minutes we will lose on penalties.

"Every time Italy get down to the 90 minutes they shut up shop and say 'we've got the biggest goalkeeper, get past us' and that's what they did.

"I think [England manager] Gareth Southgate should have been more attacking."

Although England didn't quite go all the way after a thrilling tournament, she said their progress to the final via the group stages and knockouts had done so much to unify the country.

"Overall the nation has been lifted, especially after Covid," she said.

"Everyone is more positive, we're going to come out of lockdown and it's given everyone a boost by watching it."

Tamanie went to school in Whitby and has enjoyed a 22-year military career, serving in the Royal Signals.

She still has family in the town and is doing up a property in Whitby for holiday rental.