Over 70 young footballers in Tiptree attended an awards evening on Friday, March 5th, to celebrate the end of a community 5-a-side tournament.

Medals were given to every team and the teenagers also got to have a kickabout with players from teams representing Colchester United.

The winning team, Team America, also received a trophy. Prizes were presented by Aidy Boothroyd, Colchester United's manager.

The tournament, which has been running for the last five weeks, was set up by the Safer Colchester Project. It will be handed over to Colchester United to run when the Project leaves the village on March 12th.

Mark Barham, Safer Colchester Project Co-ordinator, explained: "We're absolutely thrilled that the tournament has been such a success.

"Every week there's been over 100 people and we've had a lot of good feedback from the community about how it's given the young people something to do.

"It's excellent that Colchester United are taking it on, and I'm confident it will go from strength to strength."

Jonathan Duckett, Colchester United performance analyst, who competed in the tournament said: "This is a really good scheme, using football as a tool to bring communities together, particularly the young boys in the neighbourhood.

"With Robbie Cowling and Aidy Boothroyd being present, it was a very positive day for all concerned.

"It is vital that we have a positive link with the Tiptree neighbourhood for the club to grow.

"We'll have our training base there soon and, along with the supporter base we already have there, it will be a real focal point for us in the future."

The Safer Colchester Project will be based in Tiptree until the middle of March.

A host of agencies including Essex Police, Colchester Borough Council's street wardens and Essex County Council's Trading Standards and Integrated Youth Service will take part.

Tiptree is the second area of focus for the year-long Project.

The first stage led to a drop in both crime and anti-social behaviour in Monkwick. Anti-social behaviour dropped by 24 per cent in comparison to the same period last year, while crime fell by 16 per cent.

If you'd like to enter a team into the tournament, please contact Mark Barham on 07801 461624 or Pc Mark Dundon on 0300 333 4444.