A former Folkestone forward who went on to play in the Football League has re-joined the club, three days before the start of their new season.

Ira Jackson, 25, signed for League 2 Grimsby in 2020 after a prolific season for Invicta in Isthmian Premier, which saw him score 20 goals.

Jackson scored three times for Grimsby but left last September and signed for Wealdstone, who released him at the end of last season.

Jackson has played for a number of Kent clubs, including hometown side Ashford, Dover, Margate and Sittingbourne.

“I’m really pleased to get the signing of Ira over the line,” Invicta boss Neil Cugley told the club website having re-signed Jackson.

“There have been a lot of phone calls between us over the summer as, understandably, he had interest from a number of clubs but - as I said to him - have a good season and start scoring goals and we could provide him a route back into full-time football.

“You could see in training last night (Tuesday) that him being there and signing gave all the players a lift.”

• No room for complacency at Invicta

On Twitter, Jackson wrote: "Home is where the heart is!

"Been a tough couple of years, but the story isn’t over yet, sometimes you have to go back, rebuild and enjoy the game of football again.

"The journey back to the Football League continues and I’m honoured to be able to do that @FIFC again."

Invicta begin their new Isthmian Premier season at Enfield this Saturday.

Cugley also thanked the Supporters’ Club for their assistance in helping the deal to happen, saying: “I would like to thank everyone involved with the Supporters’ Club as they made a donation to help secure the deal, and hopefully, they will be rewarded when he starts knocking the goals in!”

Overall, Jackson scored 33 goals in 50 appearances for Folkestone during his first spell with the Cheriton Road club.