Southend United mocked for unwittingly renaming stand after serial killer

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A Southend United fan has realised a disastrous oversight from his club – as they've inadvertently referenced one of Britain's most infamous murderers by renaming a stand.

Southend have sold the naming rights for their West Stand to the local estate agents Gilbert & Rose, which reads in full as the 'Gilbert and Rose West Stand'. However, they've inadvertently referenced 68-year-old Rose West, who is still serving a life sentence behind bars after being convicted for 10 counts of murder.

The Shrimpers are about to kick-off their second season in the National League after being relegated from League Two during the 2020/21 campaign, and have received a small boost in finances from the naming rights deal. But they've completely overlooked the situation, and a fan has picked up on their error.

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A loyal fan went to pick up their season ticket for the upcoming campaign, and noticed that they were no longer just sitting in the West Stand, as it had a new name. And they were quick to pick up on the fact that Southend had included the name 'Rose West' in their new stand.

The fan tweeted Southend, and wrote: "Who at @SUFCRootsHall allowed our West stand to be named after a murderer?" Not only does the name of the new stand appear in bold on the tickets, it's also clear to see on the website when purchasing single seats too.

Almost immediately after being found guilty for 10 counts of murder in 1994, West appealed her conviction and instead blamed all of the killings on her deceased partner in an attempt to escape prison. However, she was sentenced to serve life behind bars for the appalling crimes.

Gilbert and Rose are a local estate agents based in Essex, and it's unfortunate for them that the West Stand has worked against them in extraordinary circumstances. But the other three stands have already been claimed, leaving no room for movement.

There has been no response from the club thus far over whether the name will be changed, but with their season kicking off on Saturday, it's going to attract attention. Southend have already seen their other three stands named, with the MidExPRO East Stand, Solopress North Stand and Johnathon Rhys Recruitment South Stand already in place.

Southend start their campaign against Boreham Wood, and will look to improve on their mid table finish last season. However, their top scorer from last season, Sam Dalby, has recently completed a move to Wrexham.

Daily Star Sport has approached Southend United for a comment.

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