Eleven-year-old Sam Smith, from Ovingham, has been honing his football and table tennis skills thanks to Newcastle United Foundation.

Football-mad Sam is a pupil at Ovingham Middle School and attends all Newcastle United home games, but the youngster, who uses a wheelchair, was frustrated by not being able to fully join in PE lessons at school.

So Sam called on Newcastle United Foundation for help, and disability football development officer Reggie Doran has been giving him one-to-one coaching sessions, meaning Sam can now play his favourite sport.

Not only that, he also went on to join the Percy Hedley Panthers wheelchair football team, who were promoted to the Premier League, winning two trophies. He was voted the Most Valuable Player in the team and transferred to Northern Thunder in the Premiership, who are currently second in the table.

And Sam hasn't stopped there. He decided to set up a table tennis club at school for pupils of all abilities. But to get ahead of the game, Sam contacted Lisa Bell, the Foundation's Premier League 4 Sport co-ordinator, to book in table tennis lessons.

Sam said: "The football was good for me to do because during PE I couldn't take part in most activities. It has also helped me improve my football skills.

"I am looking forward to have a table tennis coach come in and give me tips on how to play, hopefully this will also help me become a better table tennis player."

And Reggie added: "Our ethos is to create opportunities for young people of all abilities to play sport. We work closely with Ovingham Middle School so jumped at the chance to provide specialist coaching to Sam."