David's Dutch Dream

Local Yorkshire lad and dad of one David Hunter, has just travelled over one thousand miles to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for England.

David, who works at Resource Print Solutions in Bramley, made the journey to Holland this autumn as part of a team chosen by Englandfans the official England supporters club, sponsored by the Football Association (FA). He played just a few hours before the England senior team drew 1-1 with Holland, when Rooney and Terry ran out onto the pitch at the Amsterdam arena, surrounded by thousands of fans.

The account executive, who lives in Halifax with his wife Pamela, only signed up to the accredited Englandfans this year in the hope of increasing his chances of tickets to the much awaited Euro 2008 in Austria And Switzerland. He did not realise the true benefits until late in the summer when he logged onto the official Englandfans website and noticed a post asking if anyone would like to play for the team.

At each international game two England supporter teams have the chance to play against the opposing country's supporters. The teams are divided into two age groups - ages 16 to 35 and over 35 years.

David, 45, said: "Singing the national anthem on the pitch with my England kit on was like fulfilling a childhood dream, although as a child I did imagine that it would be in the senior squad alongside the likes of Lineker, not in the veteran squad!"

Talking about his motivation David continued: "Both myself and my disabled friend have made a pact to go to Euro 2008 and after struggling to get hold of some tickets for this summers World Cup we both joined the official club increasing dramatically our chances of fore filling this dream. I never envisaged that joining the club would enable me to not only watch England but actually play myself with my friend in the crowd."

Following his fame with a 1-0 win over Holland, David hopes to play again in future matches both at home and abroad and has already applied to play against Spain in February.