A document written by two men who risked certain death at the hands of the Nazis for the sake of the football results has sold for more than £1,000 at auction.

Predating Bill Shankly's claim that football is more important than life or death, the two page document was made by the Guernsey Active Secret Press during the German occupation of the Channel Isles in 1944.

The document shows that current Premiership holders Chelsea were in just as indestructible form, thrash-ing local rivals Brentford 5-0 away from home, and Stock-port County caused a major upset with a 4-3 victory at Old Trafford.

Anyone found producing underground news bulletins on occupied Guernsey would have been shot immediately but L E Bertrand, who organised the Secret Press, and Reginald Warley risked their lives and survived the war to write their memoirs of the experience.

The documents, which told of their remarkable passion for the game, was bought by an anonymous t elephone bidder at yesterday's auction in Ludlow for £1,035.

Richard WestwoodBrookes, documents expert for auctioneers' Mullock Madeley, said: "On one hand it may seem rather mad for a man to risk his life for the football results, but behind it is a very definite psychology, if you can keep football going then you keep normal life going.

"It was important to keep football going as a moral booster, people risked their lives because it was a statement of defiance.

"It went for more than three times the estimate which seems like a huge amount for two pieces of paper but the item really did capture the imagination of bidders."

The group listened into BBC broadcasts secretly on their crystal set radio then typed up a paper so that avid football fans did not miss out on the weekend results.

Twelve copies of the September 10, 1944, edition were hand typed by a team of volunteers who would also travel the island risking their lives showing other people the results.

Paper was so scarce that the results were printed on used tomato wrappers.

The one remaining copy is signed by L E Bertrand and Reginald Warley who typed the edition.