A FOOTBALL team has secured a sponsorship deal with the Army.

Priestfields football club, whose players come from Bishop Auckland, play in the Soccer Sensations third division and have secured new kit and equipment.

The team won the league last season and is made up mostly of local players.

The team's manager Lee Heseltine said: "Everyone involved with the club is delighted that we have been awarded this Army sponsorship.

"As an amateur club, we are quite dependent on financial funding from outside the club to help purchase items such as strips and equipment, so we are always grateful for any support we can get."

Major Mike Sherlock, head of Army Recruitment for Teesside and County Durham, said: "We are always keen to sponsor local sports teams and like most sports, football has a huge profile within the Army.

"There is every chance for anyone to take part in sports as part of their Army career."