FORMER England and West Ham star Sir Trevor Brooking was in the region last week to officially open a new £485,000 sports facility.

He watched a series of tennis, football and hockey demonstrations at the new all weather pitch in Northallerton, before carrying out the opening ceremony helped by two pupils from the Allertonshire School.

The pitch, which is on land between Hambleton Leisure Centre and the Allertonshire, actually opened to the public in December. It is used by the school during the day and is available for public hire in the evenings.

The pitch is big enough to accommodate six games of tennis and two games of five-a-side football or hockey at any one time and is next to a new skatepark.

Sir Trevor, who opened the facility as part of his role of director of football development with the Football Association, paid tribute to the groups involved in bringing the project to fruition.

He said: "This is a wonderful example of all the partners working together. We need facilities such as this if we are going to encourage youngsters to play sports in the months of October to March.

"It is particularly important in rural areas to have this vital link between the school and the community."