Brightlingsea Regent Football Club has given 750 season tickets to all of the pupils at the town’s primary school in a bid to improve community links and boost support.

The North Road-based club, currently playing in the Isthmian Premier Division, said the move was driven by a need to sustain support and grow it by increasing the number of young supporters.

“The future of the club rests with the youngsters of the town and local district, either as players, supporters or possibly volunteers and committee members,” said club chairman Terry Doherty. “We want to be known as a welcoming family club and the youngsters can play an important role in how the Regent builds on the success it has already achieved.”

Mr Doherty added: “We had 750 season tickets printed, with the fixtures displayed on the back and the school very kindly distributed these to each class for us. It had an excellent impact as we had a season high of 212 people in attendance at home to Bishop’s Stortford recently and we hope to see plenty of kids utilising their tickets for future games.”