Matt Le Tissier at Shropshire junior football awards
Former England footballer Matthew Le Tissier was the star attraction at a gala dinner to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Shropshire Junior Football League.
Le Tissier hot-footed it up to Shrewsbury from the Sky Sports studios to attend the event at the Greenhous Meadow stadium to celebrate one of the region's biggest grass-roots football success stories.
He entertained the 160-strong audience in an on-stage conversation with Shropshire Star assistant editor Carl Jones, signed dozens of autographs, posed for pictures, and helped league officials to hand out awards.
Le Tissier, a regular pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday show, praised the role of organisations such as the Shropshire Junior Football League for providing an important stepping stone for many professional players.
The Shropshire league's hall of fame includes England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, Wales and West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, and Wolves pair David Edwards and Jack Price. Many of its players have also gone on to represent Shrewsbury Town, including Pete Wilding, Kevin Seabury, Luke Summerfield and Steve Leslie.
See Wednesday's Shropshire Star for the full story and winners
