A TEAM which has only lost one competitive match in three years rewarded their secretary by clubbing together to buy him a very special present.
At Thursday night's Local Heroes evening, 14 boys who play for the Bishop Auckland Schools under-16 team bid for a signed Sunderland AFC football shirt and ball.
They paid £100 for the shirt as a present for Garry Purcell, 48, from Durham, who has been their club's secretary for the past three years.
During this period the team were runners-up in the English Schools Cup for under 14s.
Mr Purcell said yesterday: "After Local Heroes, I went out into the foyer and saw the whole team, and the captain said we have a present for you.
"They said, 'Thank-you for helping us over the past three years' - and that made me a little bit tearful.
"I was gobsmacked, and when I told my wife she was gobsmacked as well.
"They are a great bunch of lads and it has been excellent. But this hasn't really sunk in yet."
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