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A great-grandfather who suffers from an advanced form of dementia stunned family and friends when he broke into a rendition of LFC anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

It happened during widower Joe Hawkins’ 85th birthday party at his Woolton care home yesterday, attended by around 30 members of his extended family - drawn from his six children, 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Joe’s family told how he was a massive lifelong Liverpool fan and was once a club steward.

His youngest grandchild, Laura McNally, 26, said a singer was hired for the day and it was when he was asked to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone that her grandfather - known by everyone as “Grandad Joe” - spontaneously joined in.

Laura said: “It’s Grandad Joe’s favourite song and it was just amazing when he sang some of the words.

“He obviously loves it but we never expected him to be able to sing along like that.

“He loves music so we arranged for a singer to be there.

“Everyone was crying, even the carers who look after him. It was a very emotional moment.”

She added: “He’s the Reds’ number one fan and used to work there as a steward.

“He doesn’t really remember much as he has had Alzheimer’s for many years, but he still remembered the words to his favourite song.”

The family caught the moment on social media, where the short video has so far been viewed around 70,000 times.

Even Everton fans were moved, with one tweeting: “That was nice to see, god bless your grandad.”

Alzheimers Research UK tweeted: “This is beautiful to see. You’ll never walk alone, Joe &family!”