|PIC1|Ipswich Town fans in the late 1960’s gave Derek Jefferson the name Chopper:

I’ve got the dubious honour of being the first person ever to be sent off at Portman Road. And it was against Chelsea, and it was playing against Peter Osgood. I kicked him sort of knee high, but the ball was about 10 yards away at the time, so I got my marching orders.

Off the field his 2-year-old daughter died, and his marriage broke up. One day the former hard-man found himself sitting inside a church.

This young man was telling his story as to how he had become a Christian. Saying how he’d done things his way and had made a mess of it all, and it was just as if God was speaking to me. So I got down on my knees and just said to God “will you please forgive me”.

Since then his faith in JC has completely changed his life.

It’s more important than my breath. It’s what I live for, I’m not perfect, I may have been a Christian since 1980, and there’s lots I need to change, but I just can’t understand how people can exist without God in their lives, I really can’t.