A CHEEKY north Hampshire man got the chance to play football in front of 4,500 people at a charity event, after exaggerating his sporting credentials.

Joe Carr, who lives in Ashford Hill, travelled to the Soccer Six event at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic, to film for his YouTube channel. However, an encounter with rapper Dappy resulted in him playing in the celebrity tournament.

Joe said: “We were interviewing Dappy and it became obvious that he was not happy with his team. I sniffed my chance and told him that I used to play for Basingstoke Town.

“I lied a bit, because I only ever played for the reserves and never had a contract, but I showed him a video of me scoring a goal online and he was obviously impressed because he got his manager to sign me up for the team.”

Along with Dappy, Joe also lined up alongside The X Factor finalist Sam Callahan and former EastEnders star Joshua Pascoe.

Joe was in Dappy’s side as they beat another rapper, Wretch 32, but they were then beaten by a team containing Mark Wright, Elliot Wright and James Argent from ITV’s The Only Way is Essex.

Joe’s finest moment came in his side’s final group game, when the 21-year-old hit a hat-trick to earn Dappy’s team a semi-final place.

They were unable to progress beyond the last four, losing to a team captained by singer James Arthur, but it was the experience of a lifetime for Joe.

“It was an amazing day and an amazing experience,” he said. “I was nervous but Dappy had a lot of fans there, so every time we scored, the crowd went crazy.”

Joe is the founder of Showcased Media, a production company giving aspiring footballers the platform to build a visual CV as they look for a club.