MAD keen Chester City fan Kevin Jones, of Saltney, has supported the Blues since 1978 and was overjoyed.

Asked what promotion meant to him, the fan, he said: 'The world. Today means the world.'

And he contrasted the mood when City were relegated with the party atmosphere of the weekend.

'I've waited four years. I was here when we went down and today is the day. Last time it was such a sad day when we came out on to the pitch at the end of the game. It was like a funeral. It was a very sullen and sad occasion. We had never been out of the league in 69 years.'

One of the chants which rang out around the stadium was 'Are you watching Terry Smith?' in reference to the best forgotten period of his reign as owner and chairman. But there were no such reservations about current chairman Stephen Vaughan.

Mr Jones is no doubt his commitment has reaped dividends.

'The chairman has put money in and regenerated the club from the mess it was in. Terry Smith came in with a lot of ideas but they never came to fruition and he couldn't deliver. He built castles in the sky.

'Stephen Vaughan has really saved the club and made the right decisions and put the man, Mark Wright, in charge. He has delivered a team which has delivered on the pitch. But, also, it's the backroom staff, the marketing and the community work that is going on. It's all going the right way.'

He is looking forward to next season in the third division and says the big local derby game will be Chester City versus Macclesfield Town.

Brothers Adam, 14, and Michael Littler, 11, went along to the game with their Cestrian mum Julie and dad Terry, who live in Shotton.

Dressed in their team's colours, Adam said: 'Today means more than anything at the moment.'

Their dad said of Chester's success: 'It's just the greatest feeling in the world, going back in the Football League.'

Mum added: 'It's great to see the team coming together and the supporters all coming together. It's nice to see lots of school kids as well.'

Partners Wayne Hassall and Angela Melia from Littleton had lost touch with Chester City FC having supported them in years gone by. But the team's success has proved an inspiration.

Wayne said: 'Unfortunately, I'm not a regular supporter. But we wanted to come down here for the special day. It would be great to support them next season. We're born and bred Chester people. I used to support them when I was a boy.'

Angela commented: 'My father supported Chester and I used to come as a girl. My children have been a part of Chester City. They've had birthday parties down here so we've always had some sort of connection and we like watching good football.'

Happy conversations filled the air as supporters walked away from the ground to the strains of U2's Beautiful Day on the tannoy. One fan said: 'I'm not going to believe it until I get home and get the Teletext on.'

A young girl asked her mother: 'Of all the people, why did you phone nan?'

'I just wanted to phone somebody', replied her mum.