AN ENGLAND football legend took a walk down memory lane when he visited the town where he took his first tentative steps into the game.Sir Geoff Hurst was in Sudbury where his father Charlie Hurst managed and played for Sudbury Town FC - later to become AFC Sudbury.

AN ENGLAND football legend took a walk down memory lane when he visited the town where he took his first tentative steps into the game.

Sir Geoff Hurst was in Sudbury where his father Charlie Hurst managed and played for Sudbury Town FC - later to become AFC Sudbury.

Sir Geoff is most famous for his 1966 World Cup final hat-trick and was in the town after Forward Foods Cash and Carry in Ballingdon won his presence for the day in a competition.

He visited his old football club as part of his day in West Suffolk.

Signing autographs for fans, Sir Geoff joked with the eager crowd about the time he fell into the squad bath fully clothed and his brief appearance for the town's team.

He said: “I can't remember why I was selected - probably because someone had forgotten their shorts or was a bit hungover.

“I was told at the time I was too small to become a professional footballer - so they put me on the wing where I wouldn't get into trouble.

“It was a very happy time for me in this area and I remember it well. In fact it was why my family moved south because until then we had lived in the north.”