09 December 2002

MP CAUGHT OUT AFTER GAME CLAIM

A SOUTH Tyneside MP proved what a good sport he was when he helped promote cricket in the borough's schools.

Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn was on the receiving end of a couple of spin bowlers as he pulled on the pads for a quick game at Boldon School in New Road, Boldon Colliery.
He was visiting the school following a mix-up over claims there was not enough cricket being played in the borough's schools.
Mr Hepburn had raised the concerns during Sports Questions in the House of Commons after receiving inaccurate information from South Tyneside Council about the state of school cricket in the area.
David Fairclough, secretary of South Tyneside Schools' Cricket, said: "Mr Hepburn came along because he was keen to find out about the teams we have up here at Boldon.
"I think he is hoping to get more sporting facilities for schools in the borough and appeared to have quite an interest in cricket," he added.
While he was at the school, Mr Hepburn took some time out to face a few seamers from players currently on the Year 9 team.
Mr Fairclough, 40, added: "Unfortunately, the sports hall was all set up for exams at the time, but we did manage to make a bit of space so that Mr Hepburn could face a couple of our top players."
The lifelong learning and leisure department at South Tyneside Council had been forced to correct information which was used by Mr Hepburn during the House of Commons session.
He was later given full details of schools' cricket, and the council department apologised for the resulting misunderstanding.