Football duo talk to Dagenham children about Caribbean tragedy

Two ex-professional footballers visited a Dagenham primary school this afternoon to raise awareness of the devastation caused by a Caribbean storm.

Chelsea's Paul Canoville (r) gets away from Arsenal's Brian Talbot (l) in the 80s - Credit: Alpha

Paul Canoville, who became the first black player to play for Chelsea in 1982, and former Leyton Orient youth midfielder Joel Etienne-Clark spoke to children at Beam County.

Etienne-Clark won six caps for Dominica – where his parents’ hail from – during his career and is currently raising money for the victims of a tropical storm that tore through the tiny island last month.

At least 31 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

“Dominica means so much to me,” he told children at the Oval Road North school.

“We’re just trying to raise awareness because not many people have even heard of the country, let alone the earthquake. The more people we can spread the message to, the more who can donate.”