Redcar MP Vera Baird swapped the Commons benches for the football pitch yesterday - and scored.

The Labour MP also proved her prowess by setting up two other goals in a five-a-side charity match against the England Women's Football Team.

With sponsorship from Corus steelworks, at Redcar, and shop stewards at Lackenby, Vera lined up in defence, hoping to use her height to thwart attacks.

She was unable to prevent the professionals racing into a 2-0 lead, but the MPs fought back to lose 9-6.

The Redcar MP said: "We were determined not to let in ten goals, which would have been embarrassing for a ten-minute match, and we just about managed that.

"I felt we at least made a game of it by scoring six goals. We hadn't played together before and I had scarcely played football since I was at school."

The match raised money for the Piggy Bank Kids charity, set up by Chancellor Gordon Brown, to fund research following the death of his newborn daughter, Jennifer Jane, in January 2002. Mr Brown also kicked off the match.

Now the MPs, led by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and dubbed Tessa's Tigers, plan to play regularly, with a match lined up against a team of women political journalists.