ENGLAND star Ben Wilkinson gave pupils from Broad Oak High School a boost this week with a coaching session as they prepared for a big European volleyball event.

The teenagers will be representing the town in Schorndorf, Germany and the coming Greater Manchester Youth Games.

Ben will be representing England in the Czech Republic at the end of May and coach Richard Hopwood said: "The pupils have only been playing a few months and are already showing considerable promise. In the coming weeks they will be playing quality teams from as far afield as America, Japan, Italy, Germany and some of the best teams in England in their age group.

"We need to give them the best start possible. We are receiving considerable support from the school and Ben's visit is just one small way of expanding on that support.

"The squad here has some great opportunities lying ahead of them in the coming weeks, months and years. Hopefully, they will make use of them to the best of their abilities.

Although a hugely popular sport in many other countries, volleyabll in the United Kingdom lacks numbers. A team of coaches from Bury Volleyball Club are working hard with Rob Kennedy at Bury Sports Development and Broad Oak High School to provide a centre for volleyball in Bury.

They hope to create further teams to compete with the other Boroughs of Manchester and other cities around the country.

Coaches currently run sessions at every Wednesday evening at Broad Oak High School. Anyone interested in playing volleyball should contact Mark Nagy on 01706 659318.