Ashley Jackson's dream of winning the hockey World Cup came to an abrupt end on Thursday afternoon when England lost 4-1 to Germany at the semi-final stage.

The 22-year-old former Sutton Valence School pupil (pictured) has been one of the stars of the tournament, but he could do nothing to stop his side missing out on a place in the final.

Germany raced into a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes, taking advantage of a penalty corner and then some hesitancy in the England defence. A Richard Smith strike brought England back into the game on 18 minutes but Germany scored again from another penalty corner shortly before half-time.

The Germans scored their fourth goal through Linus Butt with 10 minutes left. England will now go into the bronze medal play-off against Australia or the Netherlands on Saturday morning.

Jackson, who lives in West Malling and started his career at Tunbridge Wells, had scored five goals in as many games in the group stages as England finished second to Australia.