MANCHESTER United footballer Jesse Lingard gave pupils at his former school a double treat on Friday.

Originally from Longford, the footballer was visiting St Margaret’s Primary School in Orford, where he was a former pupil, as he continues his recovery from injury, and surprised pupils by arranging for Matt’s Ices to provide them with free ice cream.

Birchwood-based Matt, the ice cream man who served him, said he often sees the England star around the town and his kindness made the children’s day before the children broke-up for half term.

“I’ve seen him doing things for the school a fair bit and on Friday he was there with Dion Dublin,” he said.

“He always seems like a nice fella and is willing to have a chat and spend some time with the kids.

“Then he came over and said he’d like to get all the kids an ice cream which I thought was a really nice thing to do.”

The 26-year-old has long been a supporter of his home town, having also been a pupil at Beamont High School, and his actions certainly made the day of the delighted pupils.

“All the kids were giddy and already excited to meet him, and then even more so when they knew they were getting an ice cream,” said United fan Matt.

Having been in the dairy business for 20 years, this is not the first time that Matt has had celebrity customers.

“I’ve had quite a few famous people come up to the van to be honest,” he said.

“One that springs to mind to him was the time I served Ian Brown from the Stone Roses.

“You never know whose going to turn up wanting an ice cream.”

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The firm hit the headlines last year when they donated free ice cream to residents at St Rocco’s Hospice following a call from a family member.

In a post on Matt’s Ices Facebook page, Matt paid tribute to Lingard by posting:

“Jessie Lingard decided to treat the kids at St Margaret’s school to free ice cream today what a lovely gesture from a great footballer.”

It seems his actions resonated with people on social media, with comments praising him for not forgetting his roots and doing something nice for the school kids.