A LIFELONG Albion fan is flying high in the Amazon book charts with a novel which details how he nearly died at an away game.

Nic Outterside will release Death In Grimsby: 50 years Following Brighton And Hove Albion in August.

The 62-year-old named the book after one of its chapters, in which he talks about how an away trip to Grimsby nearly cost him his life.

The Seagulls supporter said: “It was in 2004 and we [Albion fans] were battling for the Falmer stadium.

“One of the big ideas was to deliver a big Valentine’s card to [then Deputy Prime Minister] John Prescott and it coincided with an away game at Grimsby.

“We did the presentation to Mr Prescott at his constituency in Hull East and then went to the game.

“It was raining heavily and I’d parked a mile and a half away and by the time I got to the ground I was soaked.

“After the game I was shaking all over, I stalled the car a mile away from the ground and a local stranger found me blacked out at the wheel.

“I was taken to the hospital and was told by the doctor that I was 0.1 degrees off hypothermia.

“It’s the closest I’ve come to dying at a football match.”

Nic, who grew up in Shoreham but now lives in Wolverhampton, said he has balanced the bad in his book with moments of jubilation when supporting the club.

The journey begins with his first game – a one-nil win at home to Bury in September 1967 – to 2017 when a brace from Anthony Knockaert saw Albion all but secure promotion to the Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He said that it was never his plan to detail Albion’s Premier League Journey.

He said: “I didn’t want to go on to the Premier League because the book isn’t about that. We have been around for more than 100 years and have spent only six seasons in the top flight.

“It’s about lower league football.”

The book is already a hit with fans and former Albion players and broke into the Amazon charts two months before its release. The book will be available in the week commencing August 12.