A group of young footballers from Knighton were celebrating after finally playing in their first ever tournament - 9 months after they first formed.

The under 7's team at Knighton Juniors was started in September 2020, but had never played a competitive fixture together before the country went into a series of Covid-19 lockdowns.

However, they overcame their lack of match practice to finish third at the event held at Ludlow's Community Stadium on Friday, May 28.

Although children's outdoor activities have been legal in Wales since March 27, and organised sports tournaments legal in England since May 17, event organisers have faced logistical difficulties due to travel arrangements and capacity numbers.

The team saw off competition from Telford, Leominster and Ludlow to earn their bronze finish.

Jane Jones, whose son Henry plays for the side, said they were thrilled to be able to finally put on a strip and represent the town.

"The boys all know each other from school anyway so it wasn't like it was the first time they'd met or anything!" she said.

"Due to covid none of the team had ever played a proper football match before. They've been going since September - they did a bit of training as and when the restrictions allowed but this was the first time they'd been able to play any sort of match.

"All the team played their hearts out and it was so lovely to see children allowed to take part in sport again.

"That's it for the summer now unfortunately due to Covid but hopefully they'll be able to take their achievement into next season."