Midfield maestro returns to sender

Evo-Stik Northern Northern Premier League Darlington 1883 have swooped for former fans' favourite Dale Hopson after his contract with Huddersfield Town was cancelled.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder, pictured, signed for the Terriers in the summer of 2012 from Darlington under its former guise in the Conference Premier. Hopson, pictured, came through the old club's youth ranks and made an immediate impact when he burst into the first-team.

He'd made 32 appearances for Huddersfield's U21s but had yet to feature in the first team at the Championship outfit and was told his contract would not be extended when it expired at the end of this month. Hopson's final game for Huddersfield's development squad was a 3-1 win on Monday and he could feature for manager Martin Gray on Saturday when they travel to First Division North leaders Warrington Town after signing on at Heritage Park on Tuesday.

A delighted Gray said: "He's a big signing for us. I'm delighted to have got him. He's had a good grounding in the game and he's a good lad as well. He's a local lad and he wants to play for Darlington, it's always great to get players like that to the club."