A man has admitted the “utterly deplorable” mocking of Bradley Lowery, a young football mascot who died of a rare form of childhood cancer, at a football match against his favourite team. Dale Houghton, 31, pleaded guilty to a public order offence at Sheffield magistrates court after an incident at Sheffield Wednesday’s clash with Sunderland on Friday. Houghton, who was arrested on Saturday, could face prison for the crime, which angered and upset football fans. Pictures circulated on X, formerly Twitter, showing two men laughing while at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium, with one of them – Houghton – holding up a picture of Bradley to the camera. Sunderland fan Bradley died aged six of neuroblastoma in 2017, having raised more than £1m for charity. He was a mascot for his beloved club and, in the months before his death, led England out at Wembley alongside the former Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe, with whom Bradley became close friends. In a statement after the pictures began to appear, the family said: “Bradley was and still is well loved in the football community, which I’m eternally grateful for, but I must ask that everyone lets the police do their job, and deal with the lowlives. “I want to thank Sheffield Wednesday for their quick condemnation, and the support their fans have shown. Like we always say, cancer has no colours, and, as we all know, it can affect anyone at any time. “Thank you all for your kind words. It has really helped, and let’s do what we do best at the Bradley Lowery Foundation and turn this negative into a positive.” In the aftermath, Sheffield Wednesday supporters began a fundraising campaign for the Bradley Lowery Foundation, which was set up in 2013 by Gemma Lowery, Bradley’s mother, to provide support for families who are trying to raise money for treatment abroad that is not available on the NHS. Houghton, from Rotherham, was bailed and will be sentenced on 17 November. The district judge James Gould told him “your actions are utterly deplorable” and that all sentence options were open, including a prison sentence. Earlier this year, a Manchester United fan received a lifelong ban from the club for wearing an offensive shirt that mocked the Hillsborough disaster. James White, 33, from Warwickshire pleaded guilty to displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United. He was banned from all regulated football games in the UK for four years and was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £400 and £85 in costs.