It was a very merry Christmas for one young Ipswich Town fan after her letter to Santa became an online sensation.

Alex French, 9, from Ipswich, asked to be a mascot at a Town game in her annual letter to Father Christmas, but after being posted online it was seen by many people, including Blues boss, Paul Jewell.

The letter had just one Christmas wish, for Alex to lead out Town as the club’s mascot.

The letter was originally posted online by Alex’s mum, Vicki French, and it was then put on Twitter by a family friend.

Vicki said: “I put it on Facebook and as time went on people started commenting on it.

“I have a friend who’s interested in football and she put it on Twitter – it just snowballed after that.”

And after seeing the letter online Jewell stepped in and invited Alex – along with her brother, Harrison, mum, Vicki and Dad, Kevin – to come down and meet the players.

Mrs French admitted her daughter was rather shy when she first met the team.

But her nerves quickly went away when her favourite player walked through the door.

Vicki said: “Paul Jewell saw the letter and he phoned me and said he would like to meet Alex. We went up and met with him, it was brilliant.

“We met the players too and then we watched them train.

“She was quite quiet when she first met them all.

“I think she was quite shy until Jimmy Bullard came in, that’s her favourite player.

“She shouted his name and they had their picture taken together – it was brilliant.”

While meeting the team Alex and her brother were also given presents by the team including signed picture cards, and an Ipswich Town football.

And Alex’s Christmas was complete after being told that she would not only be meeting the whole team, but also that she would be leading Jewell’s team out against Burnley in March as a mascot.

Did you get any interesting or touching gifts for Christmas? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or alternatively you can send an e-mail to us at eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk