SHIPTONTHORPE Raiders Under-15s football team are back in business thanks to a Pocklington aerosol business and a proud parent.

LMA Services Ltd and Craig Hodgson have loaned their support to enable the relaunch of the former Shiptonthorpe Hawks team that play in the Hull Boys U15s Wyke League.

The new kit marks a new beginning for the team under manager Rich Fryatt and assistant coach Jordan Bacon after the team, part of a club which was established in 1972 and which fields ten teams from U8 to adults, was threatened with closure after the former managers left.

Fryatt said: “My own playing career ended due to injury, but I was a keen spectator of the Hawks and I didn’t want to see the team fold and the boys lose everything that they had worked so hard for.

“The future of the team was in jeopardy due to dwindling player numbers, so I set up a website and a facebook page, began advertising in facebook groups, put posters up in local shops and invited teammates to bring friends down to training.

“As I result, I have now signed on 16 players for this season which is fantastic step up in the right direction.

“The team is very grateful to Craig Hodgson and Fraser Todd from LMA Services Ltd for their generosity as it has enabled us to relaunch the team with new training and playing kits, to fund my coaching course and to buy essential training equipment. I’d also like to thank the parents for their ongoing support both in the lads and the aspirations that Jordan and I have for the team.”

Of the sponsorship, LMA Services Ltd’s managing director, Fraser Todd, said: “It’s our 30th anniversary this year and we’re delighted to celebrate by supporting Rich, Jordan and The Raiders and wish them all the best for the rest of the season.”

And Hodgson, whose son Joe has played for Shiptonthorpe since 2011, added: “I’m sure I speak for Fraser, the employees of LMA Services Ltd, myself and family when I say we are all proud to back such committed and hard-working members of the local community, who give so much time and effort of their own to give back to others.”