LIFELONG Brighton and Hove Albion fan Jim Frank is living proof of just how quickly your luck can change.

One day the 40-year-old was told he may never walk again, let alone kick a ball with his friends - and his beloved Albion faced relegation.

The next the Seagulls were staying up, a potentially-crippling back operation had been a success and he was the lucky winner of an Albion season ticket for life.

Things were looking pretty bleak for Mr Frank, a radio producer, in the days leading up the Albion's crunch game with Ipswich last Sunday.

A nagging slipped disk which had been pressing at his sciatic nerve for the last four months suddenly got worse and he was in agonising pain.

He was admitted to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath last Saturday and was told he would undergo urgent neurological surgery on Sunday morning.

The father-of-two said: "The specialist told me I could end up in a wheelchair.

"They operated and when I came round I was drugged on morphine and didn't really know what I was doing.

"I was demanding to watch the match but they did not have Sky TV so they tuned me in to Southern Counties Radio and I listened to it in a drugged haze before drifting back into unconsciousness.

"The result perked me up and then I kept getting text messages saying things like: You lucky sod.'

"I didn't know what they meant until my brother Richard came to see me and told me my name had been picked out at half time to win the lifetime season ticket.

"I have never won anything in my life and this is the best boost I could ever have hoped for. It really means a great deal to me.

"I may never be able to play football again but I'll always be able to watch the Seagulls for nothing."

Mr Frank, who lives in London, was entered into the draw because he donated £100 to the Albion's Alive and Kicking fund.

Albion chairman Dick Knight visited Mr Frank in hospital yesterday to congratulate him on the prize and wish him a speedy recovery.

Mr Frank added: "That was a nice touch and it was an honour to meet Dick. He has done so much for the club and we had a good chat about all things Albion."

The operation was a success and Mr Frank will now begin a long recovery.

He said: "Let's hope in a few years' time I'll be taking my seat in the new stadium at Falmer."

The Government is due to make a decision on whether to allow a new 22,000-seat stadium at Falmer later this year.