OPERA singer Suzannah Clarke was taught the words to the Albanian national anthem by two asylum seekers in east Cleveland - just hours before she sang it to 52,000 people at England's world cup qualifier, at St James's Park, Newcastle.

She had been contacted by the FA on Monday and asked to perform God Save The Queen and Himni Kombetar - the Albanian anthem - prior to the match.

"I said there was no way I would be able to sing the Albanian national anthem at that late stage, and I couldn't do one and not the other - that would be a real insult," said Suzannah, originally from Normanby, near Middlesbrough.

On her way to the North-East from London, she called her mother - Redcar councillor Sheelagh Clarke - who managed to put her in touch with an Albanian family.

With help from Kujim and Natasha Xhepha, and words printed from the Internet, she was able perfect her performance at the couple's Grangetown home, near Middlesbrough.

"They were wonderful, and they must have sung it 20 or 30 times over and over again. They even recorded it for me," said Suzannah.

"They were terribly excited, but they thought I was crazy for trying to learn it at that late stage."

Suzannah was so grateful that she contacted the FA, which managed to get Kujtim tickets for the match.

The couple fled Albania in November to escape political unrest, and have lived in Grangetown since Christmas with their children, Ralf, three, and fifteen-month-old daughter Inef