A teacher reached out to a student's footballing hero for a motivational message ahead of A Level exam period after growing concerned about his slump in focus - only for the sportsman to eventually end up taking the teen out for congratulatory lunch after he got the grades he needed.

'Life-long Evertonian' Tom Simmons, 18, had been struggling with school work earlier this year, prompting his worried photography teacher Mr Wyatt to think outside of the box - enlisting the help of former footballer Duncan 'Big Dunc' Ferguson, who is currently assistant manager at Everton.