TEAMS of football-mad police officers are lining up to play a mini tournament, with the goal of raising money for charity.

The event, at Thornaby tonight, is being supported by the region's senior clubs, with Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle promising to donate raffle prizes to boost funds. ntl has also given items.

Detective Constable Warren Shepheard, who is helping to organise the five-a-side games, said seven teams had been drawn up from CID and uniform shifts, at Stockton.

He said: "The aim is that this will be the start of an annual competition, with the winners receiving a trophy.

"It is a joint venture between uniform and CID. We are all keen footballers, so it was an ideal way of doing something for charity.

"We do something for children every year. They are all good causes, but this time we decided money should go to children's cancer research."

Together with money raised from a sponsored walk, organisers are hoping to collect about £4,000.

Kick-off for the games, at the Pavilion, is 5pm.