THE Bishops Lydeard Youth FC Girl's team are celebrating after receiving a stylish new set of threads thanks to Taunton's McDonalds.

The restaurant on East Street donated the kit to the team as part of the new McDonald's FA Charter Standard Kit Scheme.

The Girls team is one of the first to benefit from the new community programme, which is run in partnership with The FA and their official kit supplier Nike.

It enables all 4,600 FA Charter Standard clubs with a junior team in England the chance to order a new strip every year for the next four seasons.

To mark the occasion, the club held an event at their ground, where local McDonald's franchisee and community football supporter, David Hunt delivered the kit to the team.

Mr Hunt said: “Grassroots football clubs such as Bishops Lydeard Youth FC are vital for communities, as they provide young people with the opportunity to get involved in football and feel part of a team.

“It's important that businesses like McDonald's support them and help to create the best possible experience for young aspiring footballers.”

Bishops Lydeard FC has been running for over 100 years. It currently has over 350 players spanning youth, senior and girls/women's teams and has recently become one of the largest clubs in the South West.

Julie Bowker, director of Girl's and Women's Football at Bishops Lydeard Youth Football Club said: “We're hugely grateful to McDonald's for donating a new kit for our Girls team.

“An average team strip costs around £500 per season, so this really is a huge saving for us and means we can spend the money on other areas of the club that need it.

“The girls are all really excited about wearing their new strip.

It's already helped to create a sense of unity and team spirit and I'm sure this will go a long way towards helping us to have a successful season.”

To find out more about how McDonald's and The FA support community football visit .mcdonalds.co.uk/BetterPlay