Club says player 'deserves second chance' after jail

Lowestoft Town midfielder Flynn Clarke broke his tibia and suffered ligament damage during an FA Cup qualifying tie

A football club said it wanted to give a "second chance" to a player previously jailed for dangerous driving after he broke a leg in an FA Cup match.

Flynn Clarke, 21, was given a 12-month sentence in September 2023 for seriously injuring three people in a crash near Peterborough.

The ex-Norwich City youth player broke his tibia and sustained ligament damage while playing for Lowestoft Town in an FA Cup third round qualifying tie at Haringey Borough on 28 September.

A fundraising campaign has been launched for Clarke by a director of the Southern League Premier Central club, who urged fans to support him.

Helen Nixon, a director at Lowestoft Town Football Club, said: "Everybody should be given a second chance.

"We all make mistakes at some time in our life, but I can honestly say he is such a nice person.

"I don't condone what happened but it is in the past and we need to move forward and we need to support him.

"He has the makings of becoming a really good player at Lowestoft but he has no contract and he can't play football or work right now and so he's got no funding to live off."

Clarke - pictured playing for Peterborough United - lives near Norwich and signed with Lowestoft Town this summer

Mrs Nixon started an online fundraising page, which had generated more than £600 towards the target amount of £1,000.

She said the club was still waiting to hear what future treatment the player would need.

Clarke pleaded guilty to causing serious injury to three people by dangerous driving in an incident in Thorney, near Peterborough, in April 2022.

He was jailed for 12 months in September 2023, while signed to Norwich City, and was released from prison on an electronically monitored tag after three months.

Lowestoft's secretary Terry Lynes said: "He's quickly become a crowd favourite at the club and we all wish him a speedy recovery but it's going to be a long job for him."

Clarke was signed to the club in the summer and had played in 11 out of the 12 games so far this season, scoring twice.