A boy who spent last Christmas in hospital with leukaemia said it was “amazing” to walk out as the mascot for his favourite football team.

Ezra,11, from Northampton, made a special appearance alongside the captain of Northampton Town FC at Sixfields Stadium on Friday.

“I got to meet the players in the dressing room before the game, and I also walked out with Sam Hoskins,” said Ezra.

His dad Kie told the BBC: “It was a real realisation moment for us that we’re kind of getting through the thick of it now, and getting out the back of it.”