His skills have got him noticed by the town's football club. He spoke to Asha Mehta about his inspiring journey.

KICKING a battered plastic ball with bare feet on the scorched earth near his Afghanistan home, seven-year-old Mehdi Mehrpoor couldn't have dreamed that he would one day be playing for a semi-professional team and watching his heroes at Wembley.

But two years after he fled his war-torn homeland, the shy 16-year-old has completed his first season for Wisbech Town under-18s, after being spotted by scouts while playing for nearby Leverington.

And earlier this month, he cheered wildly alongside tens of thousands of fans as he watched England take on Kazakhstan at Wembley.

It is all a far cry from his time as a terrified youngster running from the Taliban and the horrors of war.

Aged just 14, he made the heart-wrenching decision to leave his family, trek miles over mountains and stow away in lorries to escape for a new life in this country.

Unable to speak the language and wearing just the clothes on his back, he was eventually placed in the care home in Wisbech, where he now lives.

Tall, handsome, with a ready smile, and chatting easily in English about his favourite players, it is hard to imagine the struggles he went through.

Assistant manager at the home Andrew Nixon said his sunny personality had been a huge hit with all the other children and helped overcome any problems.

He said: "When he went to school, he was different. But they saw him playing football, and he became popular.

"He is an extremely pleasant young man, very polite and helpful to people.

"He had his problems, like all young people who have travelled. There was the emotional stress of leaving his family behind. He doesn't like to talk about his experiences in Afghanistan."

He told how Noel Furlong, a residential worker who is heavily involved with Wisbech Town, took Mehdi under his wing after being impressed by his soccer skills.

Mr Nixon said: "What made him interesting for the scouts was that not only does he have good football skills, he is a definite team player."

Mehdi's voice dropped to a whisper as he recalled his hazardous journey.

He said: "Life was difficult in Afghanistan. I was about 14 and left on my own, I have family, a mum, dad and sisters. They are still there. I don't know how they are – I haven't spoken to them since. I hope they are OK.

"I came as an asylum seeker. I had no passport, so was forced to come illegally.

"I walked for a very long time, over three mountains. There were a lot of dangers. I went in cars and lorries and always at night. I was very nervous.

"I came to this country and was in a lorry. I slipped out and was very tired, so fell asleep in a park. My clothes were all black. A couple of people found me and called me, but I couldn't understand English. They took me to a restaurant and bought me a sandwich. They called police and took me to the station.

"The next day, the social services came. Initially, they thought I was 16, so I had to share a flat in Peterborough.

"They then realised I was younger and they brought me straight to Wisbech." Continues on next page

Related:
ET reporter Jonny Muir writes from Kandahar in Afghanistan during July 2008.

The ET's David Old spent a week with The Royal Anglians in Afghanistan, September 2007.