A MIDDLE-AGED woman with a polite voice stood up and screamed: "Come on boys, Give 'em hell."

Draped in the flag of St George, dozens of staff at the Orange call centre in Darlington transformed the canteen into a mini version of Wembley.

And the transformation did not end there. As nervous excitement turned into full scale hysteria, the mild-mannered telephonists became as vociferous as any tattooed terrace fan.

As Ashley Cole flew in for a particularly crunching tackle one cried, "Get in there." When Batistuta returned the favour minutes later, they screamed "cheat" in unison.

Then, with only seconds of the first-half remaining, Michael Owen was brought down for England's match-winning penalty.

The chef abandoned his post and came rushing over, closely followed by workers queueing for their food.

For the first time in 45 minutes, the canteen went quiet - and then erupted as Beckham scored, sending plates crashing and forks flying. The chef gave them one glance and then carried on cheering.

"I can't watch", said one worker. "Blow your bloody whistle!" screamed another.

When the referee finally did, the canteen once again erupted, as 200 workers punchd the air and hugged. Some danced.

The cheering was short lived, because for many it was back to work.

"I don't care", said 40-year-old customer service representative Jackie Wake.

"England have won and I'm pretty sure all our customers will be in a good mood."