A jersey so big only a house could wear it - couple create huge Wales top and bolt it to front of their home

  • Rob Shelley interviews Lynne and John Humphreys-McCrickett about their giant creation

A die-hard Wales fan from Gwynedd has created a giant national team jersey the size of her house.

Lynne Humphreys-McCrickett measured, sewed and stitched the 8m by 5m Wales top which currently covers the front of her home.

The 50-year-old avid football fan, along with the help of her husband John McCrickett, 54, originally created Y Crys Mawr Coch - the big red shirt - in 2016.

They then made a few updates to reflect the latest incarnation of the famous red jersey for Euro 2020.

"We originally created it in 2016 because there were not any fan zones in north Wales, there certainly weren't any where we are," Lynne said.

"Our neighbour is a football fan too so we were like we will make our own fan zone."

Lynne trained as a seamstress with Laura Ashley when she was 16, studied at London College of Fashion and worked as a pattern cutter in London for 20 years.

Creating the giant jersey took days of sewing and stitching Credit: Media Wales

Putting those skills to use, she said creating the huge Wales shirt was a sizeable challenge.

She said: "It was hard work, the shoulder pieces alone are about 1.6 metres each.

"So we had those on the kitchen table trying to measure it out and make sure it was all even, then the kitchen floor".

It took the couple two days of sewing to create the shirt and they used a neighbouring farmer's field to lay it out to ensure it was precisely as they wanted it.

"The farmer let us use his field because it was on a bit of a slope so we were able to lay it out and come away from it to make sure it all looked fine," Lynne said.

Lynne created the top with the help of her Scottish husband John Credit: Media Wales

It then took them around four hours to attach the shirt to the side of their house.

Lynne joked: "The front door is fine, but we only have about one and a half windowson show now.

"There is this lovely red hue coming through the windows now."

Lynne and John said the top will proudly remain on the front of their house until Wales' Euro 2020 campaign comes to an end.

It is bolted down to prevent any bad weather inflicting serious damage to it.

Lynne's husband John, a Scotsman, is perfectly happy having the Wales top cover his home.

The couple are now enjoying the tournament from their home due to existing coronavirus restrictions."Even with the fans in Baku, we hope the Welsh team will see this and know that even though so many fans aren't with them, they are all supporting them," Lynne said.