MOBILE phone giant TalkTalk is now the proud supporter of two Doddington football clubs after a PR mix-up saw the company sponsor the wrong team.

When TalkTalk decided to invest £50,000 to speed up its broadband Internet service in Doddington and Wimblington, sponsoring a village football team from the Fens seemed a nice addition.

But the plan went wrong when Bugle Communications, a marketing company working on behalf of TalkTalk, gifted the £600 sponsorship to the wrong Doddington FC - a team from Kent.

Steve Snell, a committee member from Cambridgeshire’s Doddington United, said he was baffled to see reports announcing that their club had netted the TalkTalk cash.

But when he rang the company, and the mistake was discovered, TalkTalk decided to splash out on another £600 to back the Fenland outfit.

Mr Snell said: “I don’t know what the research was, or how they did it, but they appear to have searched for Doddington United and got the wrong team. They sponsored this team in Kent.

“I saw a Cambs Times article saying we had got sponsorship and it all blew up from there. I phoned them to ask what was going on and said they could still sponsor us if they’d like to... so they have.

“It’s thanks to you really. Without your article it probably would have just disappeared. Somebody said we ought to send you a cake to say thanks!”

Doddington will use the £600 to buy new equipment, while a TalkTalk plaque will be installed in the clubhouse.

A TalkTalk spokesman said: “We have helped hundreds of sports clubs, village halls, lifeboats and other community activities across Britain, and despite the mix-up we are delighted to be sponsoring both Doddington football clubs.

“We wish them both every success for the season.”

Paula Boorman, from the Doddington village side in Newnham, Kent, said they would also use the cash to buy new equipment.

“We are very pleased with the sponsorship,” she said. “I did think it came a bit out of the blue!”