THE parents of a popular Stroud teenage footballer, who died in a road traffic accident, have donated £400 to grassroots football.

Nathan Smith, a former Thomas Keble School pupil and Stroud College student, died in January 2011 at the age of just 18.

After his tragic death his parents Neville and Tracey decided to honour their son by naming a trophy in his memory.

King’s Stanley U13s were the recent recipients of the Nathan Smith Memorial Shield after beating Wotton Rovers in a thrilling game.

Spokesman Richard Sharpe said:”Nathan’s parents have kindly donated £200 each to Stanley and Wotton to assist the provision of youth footballing opportunities and in the spirit of a continuing legacy of Nathan’s love of football.”

Nathan’s parents added: “We are delighted that this game continues to be played and that we are able to put some money back in to youth football. This is a lovely way to remember Nathan, who was truly passionate about his football.

“All of the lads involved looked thrilled with their medals and were all talking about them and Nathan -his memory lives on.”

Nathan played for Golden Valley Rangers (GVR) throughout much of his youth.

He started in the under 8s team and stayed until the under 15s.

He also played for Forest Green Rovers under 14s, Stroud Town FC under 16s to under 18s and Stonehouse Town under 18s.

He was one of three boys from the area that got picked from many hopefuls to try out for the Bristol Rovers Academy.

His passion was Chelsea and captain John Terry paid a tribute to him when news broke of his death.