When Sunderland's red and white army invaded London - all 25,000 of them

A mass exodus of 25,000 Sunderland fans was in full swing as the Mackems left town for their 1973 Wembley adventure.

It had gone on all night.

The Echo relayed the news back to its readers at home.

The front page on the morning of Saturday, May 5, said: “Wearsiders took over London today.

London hadn’t seen anything like it for years

"They poured in by train, coach, car and even plane. From early morning the capital was aglow with red and white favors and emblems of all descriptions.”

Echo reporters spoke to local residents in London. They ‘hadn’t seen enthusiasm like it in years’.

Trains left Sunderland all night.

"As each of them left the station, cheering supporter hung out of the windows.”

The 5.57am special rolled out of the station on Saturday morning and British Rail’s area manager James Carling finally had a moment to breathe.

‘To look at them, you would think Sunderland had already won the Cup’

He told the Echo: “It’s just fantastic. We had a hectic night all round last night. To look at them, you would think Sunderland had already won the Cup.

"I don’t know what it will be like if they do. They will just go mad when they get back here.”

Our reporter then headed over to Park Lane where the scenes were just as remarkable.

The biggest convoy ever to leave Sunderland

The biggest ever fleet of coaches ever to leave Sunderland was on its way.

The first set off at 12.30am and the convoy was still leaving at 6.30am when another 20 coaches began the journey.

Sunderland’s taxi drivers had ferried fans into the town centre for hours, and said it was ‘just like New Year’s Eve’.

‘Shout hard when you get to London, lads’

In Newcastle too, fans headed for London on a train which had come from Edinburgh. Passenger who were getting off at Newcastle greeted the Wearsiders and encouraged them to ‘shout hard’ once they got to Wembley.

The journey of a lifetime was under way.