A former Norwich City favourite returned to his hometown to present awards to enthusiastic young footballers at an inspirational event.
Derby County striker Chris Martin joined hundreds of youngsters from Beccles Town FC, as they enjoyed a footballing fun day last weekend.
With the curtain coming down on 'another great season' for the north Suffolk club, the annual youth section presentation day was held at The Nest – with the club headquarters proving to be a hive of activity.
About 1,500 people descended on the venue throughout the day, with club officials describing the events as 'another massive success' and 'a fitting end to another great season' for the club's young players.
With European Championships themed matches for the younger age groups in the morning, and matches for the older youngsters in the afternoon – as well as awards being handed out to the respective teams – there was also a fun coaches game for the adults.
David Leech, club fixture secretary, helped to organise the event. He said: 'It was a busy weekend. We sold almost 1,200 tickets prior to the event, and about 300 came through the gate – so about 1,500 attended.'
The younger age groups, running from five-year-olds up to U9/U10, played some fun games in the morning with a Euro 2016 theme, prior to their presentations – with Derby striker Chris Martin, who hails from Beccles, handing out the awards.
Age groups ranging from U11 upwards then mixed together to take part in a series of fun games during the day, with two pitches featuring numerous matches, before their presentations.
With Mr Martin presenting the individual awards and honours marking the children's commitment to Beccles FC, first team players from the club also joined in with the fun day.
Mr Leech added: 'The youngsters love watching the first team matches, and for the younger ones to have someone like Chris Martin in front of them was quite amazing.'
Equally delighted with how the event had gone, as a large raffle was held to help raise funds for the club, Catherine Sampson said: 'Thank you to all involved in making the day a complete success and special thanks to Derby County's Chris Martin for giving up his time to come and present trophies to many of our teams and young players – back where it all began for him.'
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