A NORTH-EAST football team rubbed shoulders with England boss Steve McClaren and 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst at Wembley Stadium earlier this week.

Youngsters from Chester-le-Street fulfilled their childhood dreams when they graced England's home of football in the inaugural McDonald's Football Festival on Monday.

Lumley FC Under-10s team received expert tuition from McDonald's head coach Eric Harrison - the former Manchester United youth team boss who nurtured the talents of David Beckham and Gary Neville - and took part in mini-tournaments under the watchful gaze of McClaren and Sir Geoff.

Lumley, the club which first nurtured the talents of Sunderland star Grant Leadbitter, booked their place at the Wembley showpiece alongside 44 teams from around the UK after taking part in a local tournament held in Molesey earlier this summer.

And manager Mark Blunt believes his players will cherish the day for the rest of their lives.

He said: "The kids had a great day but so did all of the parents and myself - it was an incredible experience to see our lads playing at Wembley.

"They are a great bunch to work with and they made me incredibly proud on Monday.

"They've now got memories that will stay with them for a lifetime and I hope the experience was an inspiration to them all."

The event had been organised by McDonald's, the Football Association's community partner, as the culmination of a regional festival tour which saw 55,000 children from 43 tournaments attempt to qualify for the Wembley final.

Lumley, who play in the Russell Foster Youth League, followed in the footsteps of Chelsea and Manchester United stars from the weekend's Community Shield - walking down the tunnel, playing a match on the hallowed turf and walking up the Wembley steps to the Royal Box.

Having made his name in management in the North-East with Middlesbrough, with whom he guided to their first ever piece of silverware in the Carling Cup in 2004, McClaren was delighted to see a team from the region represented.

And after watching Lumley in action the former Boro boss hopes that the tournament might produce the next crop of England stars.

"It was great to see the boys from Lumley down at Wembley and they certainly seemed to enjoy the experience," said McClaren.

"It was a chance of a lifetime because many great players have finished their careers without playing at Wembley.

"There were some talented kids out there and it would be great to see them back here for England one day."

Sir Geoff has been director of football for McDonald's since 2002 and has been at the forefront of the campaign to improve the standards of coaching in the country in conjunction with the FA.

He said: "The objective of the partnership between the FA and McDonald's was to develop and create 10,000 coaches to work with kids.

"So we improve the coaching, get the coaches qualified and then the kids can enjoy the sport more because they're being coached properly."

The McDonald's National Festival aims to boost the standard and availability of qualified coaching for young players in every community.