THE only winners in pubs across the North-East yesterday were the landlords who cashed in on thirsty fans' desire to drink a toast to England's World Cup success.

Bars and clubs across the region were packed as supporters watched England open their World Cup campaign against Sweden.

But the cheers that accompanied Sol Campbell's opening goal were replaced by jeers - and a welter of expletives - as the Swedes dashed England's hopes of a victorious start to the tournament.

At Humphrys, in Darlington town centre, several hundred fans saw Sol Campbell's early goal cancelled out by Niclas Alexandersson's second-half equaliser.

Supporters' disappointment at the result was tempered by the ground-breaking decision to allow pubs to open early to serve alcohol.

Neil Glen, 23, an office supervisor from Darlington, said: "I had my first drink at 8.45am and I've had a great day - despite us not winning.

"The place was bouncing when we scored, and I'm still confident we can get into the next round, even though this wasn't the result we wanted."

His positive outlook was mirrored by Kearn Sludds, 23, a signwriter, also from Darlington.

He said: "If we play well, I think we can get to the semi-finals. We played well in the first half but I expected us to be better than we were.

"Hopefully, I'll be in the pub for the Argentina game on Friday. My boss is on holiday at the moment, but I'm hoping he'll give us all time off to watch it."

There was a near-equal mix of men and women in Humphry's, and A-level student Kate Ramsdale was one of the many new converts to the game this summer.

The 18-year-old, from Mowden, Darlington, said: "I've only been a football fan for a day but I wanted to support my country.

"I wasn't particularly impressed with how they played and they'll have to pull their finger out against Argentina.

"I'll be revising for the next few days but I'll be back in the pub on Friday - and hopefully I'll be watching an England win!"