FOOTBALLERS who died during the First World War have been honoured with a special plaque in a Leyton park.

The plaque, which remembers three men who died in the Battle of the Somme, was unveiled yesterday (Sunday) at Coronation Gardens, off Leyton High Road.

A total of 41 staff and players joined up from what was then Clapton Orient, now Leyton Orient, in a move echoed by other football teams around the country.

Theresa Burns, of the Leyton Orient Supporters' Club, said: “It went really well. There were about 150 people there.

“There were stalwarts from the supporters' club there and it was incredibly moving.”

Funds are now being raised to pay for a permanent memorial to be erected in France for the footballers who died in the Somme.

The event featured a performance by the O's Buglers as well as the laying of wreaths.