Pupils meet Clarets heroes

11:53am Tuesday 29th January 2008

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BURNLEY FC's Ade Akinbiyi and James O'Connor were big hits on visits to two local schools.

Clarets striker Akinbiyi made the day for pupils at St Peter's Primary School, Burnley, when he arrived to present some tickets for the children to attend the Wolves game in March.

Akinbiyi, whose kit is sponsored by Lancashire County Council's road safety unit, was there as part of the player sponsor-ship scheme run by Burnley FC, whereby the sponsor is given 63 pairs of tickets to distribute in any way they wish.

He then signed autographs and posed for photographs, as the pupils and teachers enjoyed an afternoon with one of their favourite players.

Akinbiyi said: "It's great to come down and see some of the younger fans here. "It also means there'll be some more voices cheering us on at the game too, so that's important.

"We need to get the younger fans involved and hopefully some of the children who haven't been to Turf Moor before will enjoy it and want to come back."

Meanwhile, midfielder James O'Connor put a few smiles on the faces of pupils at Springfields Primary School, Earby.

His kit is sponsored by Earby Clarets who donated their ticket allocation for the recent home game against Plymouth.

O'Connor took part in a question and answer session before rounding a memorable afternoon off with photograph and autograph opportunities.