The Argus is teaming up with Albion supporters to urge the Deputy Prime Minister to approve plans for a new stadium by filling a football ground with John Prescotts.

If Mr Prescott views live coverage of Albion's most important match of the season so far, he will come face to face with himself hundreds, maybe thousands, of times over.

Campaigners want everyone attending Sunday's crucial, televised play-off clash at Swindon to wear Prescott masks which The Argus will print in Saturday's edition.

Supporters will march to Swindon's County Ground with two goals in mind - clinching promotion to Division One and winning permission for a 22,000-seater stadium at Falmer.

The winners of the two-leg tie travel to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to face Hartlepool or Bristol City for a place in the First Division.

Previous efforts to convince Mr Prescott to back Falmer have included mass deliveries of flowers to his Whitehall HQ, a deluge of Valentine cards to his Hull constituency office and a sit-in at Wycombe in February.

But with the summer break approaching, and Sky Sports cameras heading for Swindon on Sunday, supporters see this as the ideal opportunity to make the biggest impression yet.

As well as the Prescott masks, everyone there is being encouraged to wear blue and white stripes, whether they have an official club replica shirt or not.

Some have pledged to wear Afro wigs in tribute to striker Chris Iwelumo's new hairstyle and carry blue and white balloons.

Mark Aylmore, a 25-year-old draughtsman from Horsham, came up with the mask idea.

He said: "With the Sky cameras in attendance, and this being the only major football match that day, we could turn the away stand at Swindon into a sea of John Prescotts, right in front of that very audience, in a friendly yet eye-catching way.

"It should be a great day out. The masks won't upset anyone but they'll get the message across in a fun way."

The idea has been backed by many supporters, with organisers on fans' web site North Stand Chat arranging pick-up and distribution points across the South-East for the masks.

Southampton University student Simon Tipple, 19, originally from Brighton, said: "The main thing about Sunday is the match. We don't want to deflect away from the that but we do want to get into the party spirit and get the Falmer message across."

Kay Schlich, from East Preston, near Worthing, said: "Falmer is the most important thing in the club's history - more important than the play-off result itself, even - and we have to keep pressing on."

Roz South, from Firle, said: "This is an absolutely perfect opportunity for Albion fans to show how much we want and need Falmer. The visual image of everyone wearing John Prescott masks against a sea of blue and white will be stunning."

Brighton and Hove City Council has given planning permission for the proposed stadium but objections from Falmer residents prompted a public inquiry which ended last October.

More than 61,000 people signed a petition in favour of the stadium and 68 per cent backed the plans in a Brighton and Hove-wide referendum five years ago.

Supporters say the club cannot survive by continuing to play home games at 7,000-capacity Withdean Stadium, after losing more than £900,000 in the year to June 2003.