A football-mad Canterbury schoolboy has made a dream appearance at Wembley, joining England's top striker on the hallowed turf for the team's 1,000th match.

The once in a lifetime opportunity fell to Joe Payne who was among the mascots for the recent Euro qualifier against Montenegro and walked out on the pitch first alongside Harry Kane.

He went on to watch the visitors being roundly beaten 7-0 with Kane bagging a hat trick.

Joe, 7, plays for Canterbury Eagles under-8s which was awarded a mascot place by the FA thanks to the club's use of the Matchday App and collecting match fees and annual payments through the PayPal system.

The youngster is an Arsenal fan but wasn't about to turn down a chance to walk out alongside its London rival's Tottenham striker.

He is a pupil at St Stephen's School in Canterbury and lives with his mum and day, Tony and Heidi and two older brothers, Jack and Freddie in Crown Gardens.

Tony, who is the Eagles u-14s manager and club vice chair, said “Although Joe did look a bit apprehensive in the line-up pictures, he was just a little overwhelmed by the whole occasion. And the fact that he was drawn with captain Kane and first to leave the tunnel was a bit daunting.

"But he really enjoyed it and would like to thank the FA for giving him this fantastic opportunity.

"We watched the match and he even got to keep the England kit which he proudly wore to Eagles training the next night."

He added: "Canterbury Eagles is a family friendly football club promoting the development of young people’s interest in football, helping them to hone their footballing skills and supporting their social and emotional development.

"Having been around for 40 years we have in excess of 200 kids playing and training with us on a weekly basis – all benefitting from the positive experience we deliver through the work of our volunteer managers, coaches and backroom team."

For more information about the club, visit www.canterburyeaglesfc.co.uk