A CRICKET-MAD haulier has turned missionary in the name of his favourite sport.

Bill Troup, of Trimdon, County Durham, who makes regular aid trips to Romania, decided to stage a couple of cricket matches to entertain youngsters.

And, to his amazement, the sport ended up receiving the attention of the minister of sport, the president of the nation's Olympic Committee, and was featured on national television.

"We've had the most fantastic time you can imagine," said Mr Troup, 68, who has videos of Romanian TV coverage.

"The way it started was that I wrote off to the England team body to try to get bats for raffles and auctions.

"They wrote back and said they had this programme to promote cricket.

"We had a couple of games in the north and the south of the country and ended up meeting these serious Government people and being on the television.

"But the main thing was we had a good time with the children.

"A lot of them were a bit bewildered about it at first but they soon got the hang of it.

"I think there's every chance that, with backing, the game could take off over there."

Mr Troup has run aid trips to Romania for more than six years and raises money for good causes in the country.

On one occasion, he even gave a Romanian lorry driver, whose wagon had broken down at the Bowburn service area on the A1, a temporary home.

Mr Troup is appealing for football clubs in the area to "adopt" a Romanian children's team.

If you can help, telephone him on (01429) 880088.