A TEAM of Evesham paperboys came very close to winning a major national tournament.

The Hampton Express five-a-side football team, based at Hampton Post Office and Stores, made it through to the final of a national tournament at Blackburn's Ewood Park ground.

Along the way the team, which had already won the Midlands section, beat the Scottish champions 9-0 and London 1-0, before losing 2-1 in extra-time in the final to Mersey Dee.

The squad consisted of Kyle Holder, Danny Millward, Phillip Wood, Stephen Bullock, Mark Lewis and Mike Jeffries.