West Ham captain Mark Noble secretly gifted an Afghanistan war veteran a pair of signed football boots
West Ham captain Mark Noble gave a former soldier a day to remember when he left him a pair of signed boots.
The midfielder met a group from Blesma, the limbless veterans charity, at the football club’s training ground — and he gave the white boots to Matty Woollard, a Hammers fan who lost his right leg to an IED while on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The 28-year-old from Colchester said: “It was great to meet him and the other players as I’m a big West Ham fan. After he’d gone someone gave me a bag and said ‘he wanted you to have these’. It was a pair of signed boots. He didn’t make any fuss, just left them for me.
"Meeting him was a big enough treat but to take time to do that was amazing. I said he was a legend and he said, ‘No way, you guys are legends’.”
Mr Woollard was only 18 when he stepped on three anti-personnel mines in Kajaki. He also suffered burns to his hands, arms and a severe injury from his left knee to his belly.
West Ham has made Blesma a charity partner. Mr Woollard will battle the obstacle course at Nuclear Races, Brentwood, next month in support of Blesma.
