STRIKER Graeme Armstrong has played his final game for Darlington after telling the club he is to leave this summer.

His contract expires this summer, but he has turned down the offer of a new deal, news which will disappoint most supporters of the club.

PHOTO GALLERY: Graeme Armstrong

The Northern Echo understands that travelling is a factor in the decision of the Newcastle-based striker, who works as a teacher in Hexham.

Quakers boss Martin Gray said: “Graeme has been a fantastic servant over the last two years, and has helped us to win two promotions. He turned down the offer we made him, so we wish him all the best for the future.”

Armstrong played an integral role by helping the team win two promotions in his two seasons with the club, scoring 39 goals in total, 13 of them this season.

His final three goals in Quakers colours were a ten-minute hat-trick in the remarkable and unforgettable 7-1 win at Whitby Town ten days ago when the Northern Premier League title was won.

The game came 12 months after a play-off final win over Bamber Bridge when Armstrong scored in a 2-0 win, but in the dying seconds sustained a serious abdominal injury which kept him in hospital for a month and required an eight-hour operation to repair his damaged pancreas.