FOUR Special Olympic gold medal-winning footballers from the North-East rubbed shoulders with their Premier League heroes at the PFA Awards.

Andy Hetherington, Alex Sawyer-Copus, Michael MacGurk and Brad Whitfield were reunited with teammates from the Great Britain side that won gold at the 2015 Special Olympics in Los Angeles, USA, as they were guests of honour at the prestigious Professional Footballers’ Association Awards in London on Sunday night (April 24).

The team’s achievement was recognised by Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, in his speech and with a special page in the event programme and after the ceremony the players chatted and grabbed 'selfies' with multi-millionaire stars including goalscoring sensation Jamie Vardy, Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez and England hitman Harry Kane.

Mr Hetherington, from Stanley, County Durham, the team captain, said: “It was spot on, really great.”

The 27-year-old centre back and the other three North-East players, Alex Sawyer-Copus, 18, of Houghton-le-Spring, Michael MacGurk, 20, of Leadgate, and Brad Whitfield, 20, of Annfield Plain, all play for Beamish Dynamos in the North-East Ability Counts League.

They travelled with the Dynamos and Team GB coach Bobby Coltman, a maths teacher at Sedgefield Community College who lives in Spennymoor, who said: “It was brilliant.

“The lads had a great time. They were all delighted to be there. The PFA made a real effort on the night.

“It’s nice to get some recognition. So often the Special Olympics goes under the radar. It’s nice for them to get a pat on the back.”

Mr Sawyer-Copus, a Sunderland fan, said: “My time during the Games was such an amazing experience. To play 11-a-side football representing Great Britain is what every kid dreams about.”

Mr Whitfield, a Newcastle fan, added: “Winning the Olympic gold medal was the greatest thing I have achieved, a dream come true.”

The Special Olympics is a global contest open to athletes with intellectual disabilities.

The four North-East players will all be hoping to stake their claim for a place in the Team GB team for the 2019 Special Olympics when the National Summer Games are held in Sheffield next year.

Virgin Trains arranged their travel to London.