Tom Cruise helps out struggling non-league football club after using their pitch as a movie set

Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise helped out a grassroots football club that is struggling financially by signing replica shirts for an auction.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many football clubs around the country have been suffering as fans haven’t been allowed to attend games.

But for Woburn & Wavendon Football Club in Bedfordshire, the annoyance of being kicked off their ground for a film shoot was eased when the film’s huge star, Tom Cruise, helped them out.

The football team had been forced to vacate the area to make way for the Mission: Impossible 7 film crew. But, to make amends Cruise signed some of the club's shirts that will now be auctioned off to raise money for the club.

The A-list actor signed a handful of their football shirts, and money raised from the sale of them will go towards their crowdfunding campaign, with the hope of reaching £12,000.

The football club’s chairman Robert Hill said the team was “desperate to get back on and play some football” since coronavirus restrictions were lifted, but that the production company reassured them they would “do whatever we could” to ease the burden.

In a message from Woburn & Wavendon FC’s Twitter account, they wrote: “Hollywood star Tom Cruise was in town filming near one of our venues, meaning we had to relocate, but the Mission Impossible crew generously gave us their support with Tom signing a few shirts too.”

The club has lost approximately £30,000 due to the impact of the pandemic and said some of the money raised would go towards supporting community initiatives.