A KFC in West Croydon has been placed under new management after inspectors rated it just one out of five for food hygiene. 

The branch in London Road was heavily criticised following its last inspection on June 26, 2014. 

Its rating is the lowest score received by a branch of KFC in London according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website. 

It was one of 152 food outlets in Croydon, including restaurants, takeaways and pubs, which received a zero, one or two rating in 2014. 

The FSA says any business to have scored below a three out of five has failed the inspection. 

The onus is on the eatery to organise a reinspection if they think they have made improvements. 

KFC's poor score in Croydon flies against the company's usually high standard of food hygiene, with Advertiser research showing its branches scored an average of 4.53 after 131 inspections in London. 

A KFC spokeswoman said: "Food hygiene and safety are top priorities for KFC and once we were alerted that the restaurant had not met our usual high standards, we took steps to rectify the issues identified and undertook a programme of upgrade and maintenance. 

"The restaurant is now under new management and we are confident that when the next inspection takes place we will receive a much improved rating."

See this Friday's Advertiser for a special report on Croydon's least hygienic businesses 

PALACE co-chairman Steve Parish is pleased with Yaya Sanogo's progess since the player's loan move from Arsenal.

The striker has featured in three matches so far, and Parish hopes the experience will benefit Arsenal in the long-term.

"He's a young and exciting player," said the co-owner.

"At this stage of his career they felt it was right for him to get that experience, and I like to think we have a good relationship with Arsenal.

"They are fair to deal with and they felt the environment would be good for Yaya.

"Hopefully he will do well for us and then we give Arsenal back a player who has had more game-time in the Premier League and learnt more about it.

"He did well at Burnley and very well at Southampton, maybe found it a bit tough against Everton, so it's a good learning curve for him."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy has been arrested on suspicion of robbery as part of the investigation into a stabbing in New Addington yesterday.

Police were called to reports of a fight in Castle Hill Avenue at 12.50pm. London Ambulance Service and an Air Ambulance also went to the scene and treated a 24-year-old man who had been stabbed in the leg.

He has now been discharged from a south London hospital.

The 17-year-old has been bailed and will return to a south London police station in late March after police make more enquiries.

Detectives from Croydon CID are investigating the stabbing. Witnesses or anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

POLICE have confiscated just £320 from a fraudster convicted of conning customers of her discount travel business out of more than £230,000.

Neelam Desai, 35, was jailed for 30 months last May after pleading guilty to fraud, handling stolen goods, doing business while bankrupt and breaching a suspended sentence.

Police believe victims of her holiday scams could number in the hundreds but those who have come forward so far will receive a fraction of the money they lost, if anything at all.

Detectives investigating her offences were only able to apply to Croydon Crown Court for a nominal confiscation order because they believe she spent the money she misappropriated on trying to pay other victims back.

The miniscule compensation she has been ordered to pay appears to end any hope victims of her dating website scam, a series of separate frauds uncovered by the Advertiser, have of recouping any of their money.

Desai, of Beulah Grove, Selhurst, offered customers cheap flights and holidays but, when the packages began to fall through, she tried to pay them back by borrowing huge sums of cash and writing fraudulent cheques from her mother's bank account.

She also committed fraud while on a suspended sentence for deception, dishonestly using her mother's home as security to obtain two loans.

Her frauds, which occurred between 2008 and 2012 and totalled £230,790, began when she was introduced to businessman Dhanji Asani, who booked trips with her for his family and friends.

When the deals fell through Desai told Mr Asani she was having financial difficulties and, so as not to disappoint those he had made bookings for, he loaned her £153,500.

A week later Desai told him she was "broke" but was due to receive various funds from hotels in the Seychelles and Dubai. He paid a further £23,000 into her account.

When he received the same amount back a week later, he was reassured enough to book more trips.

On February 4, 2009, Desai sent him a cheque for £150,000 written from her mother's bank account without permission. It bounced and, after a further attempt to persuade her to repay the money, Mr Asani went to the police.

It later emerged Desai had tricked another customer out of £53,295, money she was using to try and repay Mr Asani. On February 26 she tried to repay that man with another dodgy cheque from her mother's account, this time for £70,000.

A few days earlier she had been handed a nine month suspended sentence, suspended for a year, after pleading guilty to using deception to obtain two loans in her mother's name and secured against her mother's house, which she had not been able to repay.

Desai was declared bankrupt on March 10, but continued to do business under the name Nisha Patel. She also tried to use a stolen chequebook to try and repay her victims and, later in 2012, tricked several people into handing over hundreds of pounds by claiming online she had iPhones for sale when she did not.

After she was arrested Desai told police she had spent the money on her £1,000 phone bills and £10,000 on friends and family per month.

She initially denied four counts of fraud, three of handling stolen goods and one of doing business while bankrupt, but changed her plea on the first day of her sentence.

Desai was arrested in April last year on suspicion of ten counts of fraud by false representation following an Advertiser investigation into a honey tap scam which saw men tricked out of tens of thousands of pounds by a women on Asian marriage website Shaadi.com. She is due to answer bail in relation those allegations later this month.

Speaking to the Advertiser about the confiscation hearing, one of her dating scam victims, who was duped out of £35,000, said: "It's a joke, a bloody joke.

"I've been moving forward, looking to the future. Life's been good and work's been alright. Then I hear about this and it pisses me off. It reminds me how stupid I was to fall for it, but it also makes me angry that she could have done this, not just to me, but to other people as well.

"I'll just have to accept I'm never going to get my money back."

Desai must pay the confiscated £320 within six months.  

THE Croydon Visitor Centre, which has provided help and information to more than 700,000 people, is to close in May.

Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) is taking the decision after being served notice by developers Stanhope/Schroder's, which is using the land next to East Croydon Station for its major Ruskin Square development.

The six staff at the centre, which opened in 2008, have been informed.

Matthew Sims, chief executive of the BID, admitted the closure was "sad" but said the organisation had to increasingly reflect the "changing environment and dynamic" of the town, as the Westfield/Hammerson development nears.

He said the BID would continue to provide "information, advice and guidance" but in a different format.

Mr Sims told the Advertiser: "It [the visitor centre] has served in excess of 700,000 people and is an incredibly high quality service.

"It is sad but it is also important to look at what the BID is doing and the challenges it faces as we enter this development period

"Croydon is changing at a phenomenal rate and we need to make sure what we offer as a BID suits our members."

As well as its information function, the centre also sold tickets for transport and West End shows, and provided exhibition space for local businesses and organisations.

It was nominated in the Best Business for Hospitality, Leisure, Travel & Tourism category at last year's Croydon Business Awards.

The centre will close on May 1, at which point Mr Sims said the BID's attention would turn to helping the town cope with the disruption caused while the £1.5 billion redevelopment of the town centre is undertaken.

He ruled out opening another visitor centre in the future at a different site, adding: "This is a new era and it needs to be looked at that way."

Work is already under way on the Ruskin Square development, which will include 625 homes, 1.25 million sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Croydon BID represents the interests of around 580 organisations in the town centre.

It faces a ballot in 2016, where businesses with a rateable value of £40,000 or more a year have the chance to vote for whether the BID should be given another five-year term to serve the area.

SCOTT DANN bemoaned another poor start as the reason Palace lost for the first time under Alan Pardew against Everton.

Romelu Lukaku's second-minute goal was all that separated the two sides on a day where the Eagles huffed and puffed but couldn't break down a well drilled Toffees defence to inflict Pardew's first defeat in five games as Palace boss.

Dann took a knock to the head midway through the first half, not long after the same fate happened to Marouane Chamakh, who broke his nose and was forced off.

The defender soldiered on with a Terry Butcher-esque headband wrapped around his head and went on to put in another accomplished display.

After the game, Dann said that Palace have to put the loss behind them and prepare for a "cup final" this weekend away at 20^th-placed Leicester City.

"I think everyone was positive before the game and them [Everton] scoring so early maybe put us on the back foot," he said.

"It took the wind out of us and took us a while to get back into the game. We weren't good enough in the first half, though.

"I think that first and foremost, we put this to bed and it's a cup final for us next Saturday. It is against a team in and around us and want to look to take points off them."

Dann felt Palace defended well against Everton as a unit and that Lukaku was fortunate in bundling home the game's only goal.

He added: "It was tough, we knew that it would be. Lukaku got fortunate for the goal but we had our chances. There wasn't much in it, but they got the lead and we found it tough to break them down.

"They are a good side, have come here and defended really well. We probably didn't put enough quality into the box as we have been in recent weeks.

"We defended well but to conceded an early goal again was disappointing. On the whole, they didn't really do much until the end and I ended up front we only had two back.

"They broke on us a couple of times but I don't think we were on it maybe as much as we have been in recent times."

A BURGLAR who attacked a landlord in his Selhurst pub during a raid has had his sentence reduced by High Court judges.

Michael Ryan, 41, was jailed in June for six years and eight months for burgling The White Horse in Selhurst and for wounding then-landlord Danny Foley.

He and his brother John Ryan, 42, had targeted pubs across London for their fruit machines.

He hit Mr Foley with a spade after the publican had warded them off with a commemorative Celtic baseball bat, causing his forehead to open and blood to come out.

Michael Ryan has had his overall sentence cut to five years and 11 months after judges said the 30-month part of the sentence for wounding Mr Foley was too harsh.

He will now serve just 21 months for the attack.

Mr Foley, now landlord of The Tower in Redhill, said the news was "absolutely ridiculous".

He added: "I am disgusted, it makes a mockery out of the justice system. These are habitual criminals who keep getting little sentences and getting out again."

Both Ryan brothers have a string of previous convictions, mainly relating to pub burglaries. John Ryan was jailed for 30 months for three counts of burglary in October.

ALEX White thinks the former Cardiff and QPR man fills a hole in the Crystal Palace squad...

MONDAY signalled the end of what appears to have been a largely successful window for Palace. We have come out of January with a stronger and more experienced squad.

One new arrival who has divided opinion is midfielder Jordon Mutch. He proved in his time at Cardiff that he is more than capable of playing at this level, yet I've heard many people question his signing.

I completely understand where Alan Pardew was coming from with this transfer. Mutch is a natural 'number 10' player who is best suited to play in the hole behind the striker and apart from Chamkah, we don't have anyone who can occupy that role.

Under Neil Warnock we saw James McArthur fill in that position. This is certainly no criticism of the Scot, but he just isn't attack minded enough to play there.

At times we were playing with all three - Ledley, Jedinak and McArthur - and I just feel that would be too negative not to have a player who will play tighter to the centre forward, especially at home.

It will be incredibly hard to drop one of those three, though, as they were the shining light of what was a terrible first 15 games of the season. I guess it is a nice headache for Alan Pardew to have.

The next two games could really signal what sort of season this is going to be for us. I wouldn't at this stage classify them as must-win but certainly they are six-pointers and will give us an idea of where we stand in this division.

The Leicester game speaks for itself. We face a very poor side that sit bottom of the league and a defeat against us on Saturday could signal the end for Nigel Pearson. Then, next Wednesday it's Alan Pardew vs Newcastle at Selhurst Park.

Much like the Leicester game, the Newcastle match is crucial. Our squad is stronger than both of these sides and with the confidence we have at the moment, we have enough to see off these two.

Having our captain, leader, and legend in Mile Jedinak back wont harm our chances either.

THE friend of a woman allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend after a row over her Facebook account urged her to leave her partner, the Old Bailey heard today.

Kane Boyce, 34, stands accused of murdering 20-year-old Paula Newman in the early hours of November 12, 2013 at Elmside, in the Fieldway area of New Addington. 

He has admitted her manslaughter, having told police he pushed her causing her to hit her head on a wall after an argument.

He initially said she had jumped out of his car while he was driving, but later changed his story.

The prosecution allege that Boyce murdered Ms Newman in a "violent rage", beating and stamping on her head after he demanded access to her Facebook account.

Boyce was suspicious she was messaging other men online, it was said.

Giving evidence on the second day of the trial today, Stefani Taylor, who knew Ms Newman since childhood, said her friend completely changed during her time with Boyce.

"She went from being bubbly and happy, to being quiet and reserved," she said.

Ms Taylor also said that on several occasions when she was with her friend,  Boyce had called and demanded Ms Newman return home.

"It wasn't like she wanted to go home, it was like she had to go home.

"She said sometimes he didn't bother coming home, he left her sitting there for hours and with nothing to do and no-one to talk to.

"I said 'you don't need to be treated like that', I told her she should leave him."

The also court heard how the pair had exchanged messages via Whatsapp, where Ms Newman said she "feels like crying every day" and that she wanted to leave Boyce.

"I'd say it was a controlling, abusive relationship. She never said he hit her or anything like that, but mental abuse is just as bad."

When questioned by Bobbie Cheema QC, defending Boyce, however, Ms Taylor admitted she had never met Boyce and everything she heard about him had come through communication from Ms Newman.

Another witness, Sarah Burns, told the jury Boyce, whom she had known for 16 years, "had always been polite and respectful".

But on one occasion, she said, Ms Newman confided in her that the couple had been arguing and Boyce threatened to throw her from his car.

Weeks later, Ms Newman died of brain injuries at Croydon University Hospital after the alleged New Addington attack.

Boyce, of Erith, Kent, denies murder. The trial, expected to last around five weeks, continues.

A MAN in his 20s was set upon by an axe-wielding attacker as he waited to get into a town centre nightclub in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday).

Police said the victim was queuing to get into Bad Apple, in Park Street, at around 1.15am when he was hit from behind with an axe, sustaining "two lacerations to the head".

Officers are appealing for witnesses to the incident and want to speak to anyone who was in the queue or on board a bus which stopped outside the club at the time.

It is understood the man's injuries are not life-threatening.

The suspect, a light skinned, black man in his 20s, fled shortly after the attack and got into a red new model Mini Cooper with white stripes.

Police also want to speak to the driver of a dark blue estate car, who may have witnessed part of the incident.

DC Brad Stow, from Croydon CID, said: "I am keen to hear from anyone who can assist with our ongoing investigation. We are following a number of investigative leads and are looking for the public to help us. 

"All information will be treated in the strictest confidence."

Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or Croydon CID on 0203 276 2264.

A PASTOR has "retracted" a letter in which he publicly apologised for his behaviour toward a clergyman at a sister church.

In the letter Pastor Clement Okusi, of Potter's House Christian Church, in Thornton Heath, repented being "in rebellion" against Pastor Nigel Brown, of Potter's House Walthamstow.

The letter was signed by Pastor Okusi and sent out to more than 300 pastors, disciples and church members around the world, including Australia, Africa and the UK.

In a statement sent to the Advertiser on Wednesday, Pastor Okusi said he had been "required" to sign the pre-written statement presented to him at a meeting of the Potter's House Board of Elders, in Arizona, United States, on January 13.

He said he had now "formally" retracted the letter and insisted he remains head of Potter's House Croydon, despite his position being renounced by Pastor Nigel Brown and the elders. 

They made that announcement after Pastor Okusi sent out a second letter in which he explained he had been forced to travel to the US meeting by Potter's House founder Wayman Mitchell, who said if he did not make the 11,000 mile trip within 14 days he would be "kicked out" of the fellowship.

The letter goes on to repudiate the accusations levelled at him in the original letter, including that he had spoken "words of disrespect, dissension and rebellion" about Pastor Brown, and that he had been "independent" and a "troublemaker".

Pastor Brown responded by writing his own message to the congregation in which he said it was "no surprise" Pastor Okusi had "ignored his disciplinary letter" and "remains in rebellion".

"It is clear from his actions and words he intends on splitting the church, taking people for his own agenda," he added.

"Clement Okusi is no longer recognised as the pastor of the Croydon Potters House Christian Church by myself or the board of elders.

"This is not a kangaroo court but men who loved Clement and attempted to correct the course he was on by addressing the issues of his heart which was clear to them all, and how he needed to repent.

"He is without headship now and a law unto himself."

The breakdown in relations between Croydon and its parent church Walthamstow has played out over two anonymous online blogs –called CroydonGate and ClementGate.

Pastor Okusi declined to speak directly to the Advertiser when contacted this week but emailed a short statement.

He said: "Following the visit to the US, the relationship between the local church and the Potter's House Network, has become unexpectedly strained.

"At the meeting in Arizona I was presented with a pre-written letter, which I was required to sign. I have now formally retracted this letter.

"The circumstances have been difficult for the network, the local church and my family.

"My priority has always been and remains to be a positive influence in the community through the witness of the Gospel, to work with the disadvantaged, to look after support my local congregation."

CRYSTAL Palace will play Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Reds beat Bolton Wanderers in their fourth round replay this evening thanks to a 2-1 win.

The last couple of times Liverpool hasn't been great, however. They fell 3-1 to Palace in November, while the famous 3-3 draw in SE25 at the end of last season sticks out in supporters' minds after Brendan Rodgers' men were 3-0 up.

SHOLA Ameobi says he "can't wait" to play in front of the Palace fans once he's up to speed with his fitness after signing a deal until the end of the season.

Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser, the 33-year-old, who left Newcastle United last summer after 14-and-a-half years in the first team on Tyneside, is working hard on his own at the moment.

Ameobi is yet to join in full training with the Palace squad but doesn't think it will be too long until he pulls on the famous red and blue shirt at Selhurst Park.

"I am definitely looking forward to playing in front of the fans here," he said.

"Coming from Newcastle and the passionate support they have up there, when I've come down here with them, you could feel the buzz at Selhurst Park and the love the fans have for football.

"As a player, you want that support from the fans and to have that means so much.

"Speaking to the Palace lads, they have spoken about the fans to me. I can't wait to get out there."

Don't miss the big interview with Ameobi in full, only in Friday's Croydon Advertiser.

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

SHADOW Education Secretary Tristram Hunt declined to reveal Labour's education spending plans as he visited a Croydon primary school this week.

Mr Hunt toured Harris Primary Academy Benson on Wednesday with Sarah Jones, a former pupil and now the party's prospective Parliamentary candidate for Croydon Central.

His visit followed an announcement by David Cameron that a future Conservative government would protect England's schools budget in cash terms, but per pupil funding would not keep pace with inflation.

Labour said that amounted to a "real-terms cut" but has yet to reveal what it would do if it wins May's general election.

Croydon is due to receive an extra £12.4 million – equating to £271 per pupil - from 2015/16 after being recognised as one of the least fairly funded authorities in England.

Asked whether a Labour government would continue to address this funding gap, as well as providing more money for extra school places in Croydon, Mr Hunt attacked the Tories' spending plans and said he would not waste money on free schools which never open, referring to the £84,000 spent by the Advance Free School which was due to open in the north of the borough before the plans collapsed.

He added that Labour's intentions would be announced at a later date.

Labour has made unqualified teachers an election issue – citing a 57 per cent rise in Croydon as an example. While there weren't any for him to talk to at Benson, Mr Hunt says executive head teacher Kate Magliocco understands the importance of the issue.

"The head teacher was very clear that if she was going to raise standards for pupils she wanted qualified teachers," he said.

Benson Primary School, in West Way, Shirley, was taken over by the Harris Federation after being rated inadequate by Ofsted in November 2012.

Forced "academisation" is a controversial subject, particularly among parents, and while Mr Hunt wants to decentralise the decision-making process, he believes the change was in the school's best interests.

"I think when a school is not delivering for its pupils it's quite right that you have a change of governance," he said.

Mrs Jones said the school retained the same "feel" as when she was a pupil despite becoming part of a wider organisation.

"It was a really good school while I was there but they've had a few problems in recent years," she added.

"But it didn't feel like a school with any problems. The kids were really engaged and thoughtful. It's a well-run school, you can sense those things when you go in." 

A GP practice in Croydon has been rated "inadequate" following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 

Woodside Group Practice, in South Norwood, must make urgent improvements after being given the lowest possible grade in four areas. 

The CQC said staff felt "undervalued" after a merger and patients had found it "very difficult" to contact the practice on the phone. 

In some cases patients had to wait for more than two weeks to access routine appointments. 

Woodside Group Practice has been told to improve in the following areas: 

• It must ensure significant events are recorded appropriately and discussed.
• The complaints procedure must be reviewed, and regular reviews of complaints must take place. 
• There must be regular medication reviews of people requiring repeat prescriptions.
• The appointments system must be monitored and reviewed. 
• All paper based patient records must be stored securely. 

In a statement released today (February 5) the CQC said it would work with Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS England to support Woodside Group Practice. 

Sarah Seaholme, the CQC's deputy chief inspector of general practice, said: "It is important that the people who are registered with Woodside Group Practice can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.

"Although the patients we met told us they were treated with dignity and respect, we also found that care and treatment was not always delivered in line with best practice. There was little monitoring of the service being provided, or regular medication reviews and not enough learning from audits.

"We know that Woodside Group Practice has acknowledged the areas where action must be taken. We will return to check its progress.

"If in the coming months we don't see sufficient improvement we may have to consider a package of further measures to ensure that this practice delivers the care and treatment to a standard that we all expect."

Read the full inspection report here. 

A mixed week for Palace with a disappointing result against Everton on Saturday but they were able to make Wilfried Zaha's return to Selhurst Park permanent and they also brought in Bolton's South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-yong to bolster the midfield on a successful Transfer Deadline Day.

The Eagles travel to bottom-of-the-table Leicester City at the weekend and a win would see them go nine points clear of the Foxes.

Palace are 23/10 at BetVictor to leave the King Power with all three points and do the double over their hosts who are 11/8 to get revenge for their 2-0 loss in the reverse fixture back in September. The draw is 23/10.

Alan Pardew will be looking for Wilfried Zaha, especially in the continued absence of Yannick Bolasie, to repay the faith shown by the Club in the 22-year-old wide man and the former Manchester United player is 11/1 to score the opener and 4/1 to score at any time in the East Midlands.

Nigel Pearson's side have won just one of their last eight home games, have scored just three times in their last seven home games and have won none of their last 16 PL games against sides from the capital.

Palace have lost only one of their last six on the road in the PL and this is a game they should not, and can't afford to, lose.

Despite the Foxes' recent inabilities in front of goal I expect to see goals and the recommendation is for the 5/6 that both sides find the back of the net.

Would Alan Pardew take a point now? I'm not so sure and feel this is a game that the Eagles can pick up all three points from. A 3-1 Palace win is 28/1 at BetVictor and that might be a shade too big.

Dwight Gayle was millimetres away from adding to his excellent recent run against Everton and the striker, ahead of the visit to the King Power, is 5/4 to be the Eagles' top PL goalscorer and 7/1 to grab the opener at the weekend.

Newcastle United visit Selhurst Park in the PL next Wednesday and it is sure to be an emotionally-charged atmosphere.

Pardew's Eagles are 13/10 to get one over on his former Club and, whatever the outcome of the Leicester game, that is a game that the Palace boss will be desperate to win.

For all your football odds check out BetVictor.com

The Westfield/Hammerson partnership has agreed the "design and layout" of a John Lewis store, with a deal expected to be signed in the next two months.

John Burton, development director for Westfield, was speaking at the compulsory purchase order (CPO) inquiry into the £1.5 billion development of the Whitgift Centre.

Mr Burton added: "I believe we will complete a commercial deal in the next couple of months for John Lewis to be part of the development.

"I can confirm that today."

Mr Burton also said if everything goes to plan, the partnership expect to start demolition of the existing centre within 12 months.

He confirmed plans are also in place for a Marks and Spencer store to be drawn up, which would be "two-thirds" the size of the John Lewis outlet.

YOUR kids will love the Disney film Frozen - now, Palace fans have good reason to become familiar with its signature song.

Let It Go, which features in the movie and later became a chart hit for Demi Lovato, has been adapted by Palace fan and king of the parody song, James Daly.

The subject of his tribute is striker Yaya Sanogo, currently on loan at Palace from Arsenal.

The title of his ditty? Let It Sanogo, of course.

CRYSTAL Palace boss Alan Pardew has revealed he will bring new signing Keshi Anderson with the first team to Leicester City on Saturday.

The youngster completed a move on Monday from non-league Barton Rovers and scored on his U21 debut 24 hours later in a 3-0 win against Millwall.

Previously, while on trial for Brentford recently, Anderson score a quickfire hat-trick against Palace.

Pardew hopes to nurture his talent, especially as he has come to the Eagles the same way the manager did in his playing days.

"He's a player who came to our attention late and there was little bit of interest in him from other clubs," said the boss.

"He played against us in the U21s and just caught our eye. It's a great opportunity for him and a similar route I took from non-league, so he'll have great sympathetic eye from my point of view for him to progress.

"Six minutes (to get a hat-trick) isn't bad. He's just got a chance, it's opportunity for him and he trained with us today.

"I have put him in the squad for Leicester, I think it will be good experience for him to see what goes on."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)