YOUNG footballers swapped their boots for running shoes to help boost the funds of both their club and a national cancer charity.

A dozen members of Durham Phoenix under-11 football club took part in the Junior Great North Run, last month.

Club secretary Keith Hind said the mass entry into the event, staged on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides the day before the full Great North Run, was initially intended to raise vital funds to help meet training costs, team kit and fees to the Russell Foster Youth League.

But, the club then received support from two local businesses in the Houghton-le-Spring area - the Lear Corporation, of Rainton Bridge, and Edinburgh Bakery, of nearby Fencehouses.

“It enabled us to donate half of the money the lads raised in sponsorship from the run to Cancer Research UK.

“We raised a total of £1,292.50, and so the very proud lads were able to help a charity close to the hearts of most of the families connected to the team, to the tune of £646.25.

“It was a brilliant effort, and we’re all proud of them.”

The club, which plays in the league’s under-11s second division, following a couple of promotions in recent seasons, attracts players from Durham, Seaham, Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Sunderland.

Mr Hind added that a big ethos of Durham Phoenix is enjoyment, with events organised both on and off the pitch to help build a great club spirit and keep the disparate team intact, player-wise, despite the wide area from which they travel for training and matches.