TENNIS-mad Oscar Metcalf had an "ace" day out when he won a VIP trip to Wimbledon - with the chance to meet his sporting hero, Tim Henman.
Oscar and his best friend, Edward James, both pupils at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, spent a fun-packed day in the capital after being entered into a supermarket competition by Oscar's mum, Kim.
The eight-year-old, who lives in Eagle Street, Oswaldtwistle, enjoyed a tour of the world-famous centre and No 1 courts, a visit to the tennis museum and lunch with Tim - before taking to the courts for a few games with his idol.
Kim, whose friend Beverley Jenkinson joined them on the trip, said that the prize also included an overnight stay in a four-star hotel, limousine travel between Wimbledon and the Queen's Club and lunch at the Hard Rock Café.
She said: "I picked up a leaflet in Sainsbury's about the competition, which they were running in conjunction with Robinson's, sent it off and forgot all about it. We were on holiday when we got a call to say we had won. When they mentioned Wimbledon, I thought we had won tickets to next year's tournament - but then they said we would be playing with Tim Henman. Oscar was just delighted - he has been playing tennis for the last three years and he really enjoys it. Tim sat with us for lunch and told Oscar that he knew his tennis coach, so they talked about that. He was great with them.
"There were only about 14 winners and their families there and Tim played tennis with everyone for about two hours. The boys got quite a lot of attention because they were the youngest - they had a great time."
Kim, a legal executive, added that they were all presented with T-shirts and tennis rackets, which the boys now use for their lessons.
Beverley, a solicitor from Accrington, said: "Tim had just got back from the Davies Cup and I think he was a bit disappointed at how they had done but he was really nice. He was just a normal, down-to-earth bloke and he gave the boys lots of tips and encouragement. It was a fantastic day."
