FANS of American Football are being encouraged to join a new Gridiron club in Worcestershire.

Worcestershire Black Knights wants to fill the void left after Hereford Chargers and Redditch Arrows closed down several years ago.

The Knights have vastly experienced coach Colin Branagh on board, who previously worked with well-established Sandwell Steelers and was also connected to the England set up.

Josh Chambers and James Bacon from university team Worcester Royals are also involved as the new club set their sights on playing in the British American Football Association National League next year.

At the moment, the Knights are focusing on attracting new members and coaching, with numbers up to 40 at the Wednesday night training sessions held at Diglis Basin in Worcester.

The club must play three friendly games over the next 12 months in order to qualify for league status in 2016.

Committee member Si Watten said: "American Football has a big fanbase, especially now that the Superbowl is televised here and NFL games are played at Wembley.

"People always think it's a complicated sport but it's one that any person of any shape or size can play.

"Since Redditch Arrows and Hereford Chargers shut down, there's been a gap but it's also about socialising and having fun as well.

"We have players from Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Kidderminster and as far away as Ross coming to training, which just shows how much interest in the sport there is."

Anyone interested in learning more about the Worcestershire Black Knights can attend training on Wednesday (7.30pm start) or visit www.facebook.com/WorcestershireAmericanFootball