Ice hockey starlet Derek Whitbread has been given a double glimpse of the sporting future he dreams of.

First, the crack London Knights team - the side he wants to play for - invited him to meet his favourite players.

Then he tasted international glory by travelling to Finland to win a bronze medal for south east England.

Derek, ten, who plays for Chelmsford under-12s and lives in Thackeray Road, Wickford, was elated after meeting his hero, Knights player Mike Harding, who presented him with a stick signed by the whole team.

Derek's dad Kevin said: "The training session was a very good learning experience, as the Knights went through lots of drills involving puck-handling and shooting that he had never seen before.

"The Knights were really nice people and made us very welcome.

"Derek met the captain Ian Cooper and the coach Scott Rex and everyone was really friendly. None of them had big egos or were unapproachable."

Derek was joined by Chelmsford team-mate Darren Brown, who lives in his club town.

Rex said: "It was great to have the boys at a training session. They are very talented. Derek has said he wants to be a London Knight when he grows up and that's excellent to hear!

"We want a professional product that the kids will aspire to be a part of and we need top-class British players at the highest level that they can look up to.

"The future for the UK is in the juniors - and the Knights hope to continue to provide a platform, including a community scheme in the off-season."

Derek's spring thrills continued in Scandinavia in a tournament featuring regional representative sides from Russia, Sweden, Finland and other nations.

He helped south east England to two wins out of their three qualifying group games, before they lost 6-2 to a Finnish team in the semi-finals and beat another side from the host nation by the same scoreline in the third-place play-off.

Now Derek faces a trip to Humberside with south east England in May for the national regional championships.

My hero - Derek Whitbread with London Knights player Mike Harding

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