AN amateur soccer player has won almost £38,000 compensation for a tackle which wrecked his career.

James Slaughter suffered a badly-broken leg while playing a game at Brighouse Town.

And he has now won a landmark out-of-court compensation battle against the club he was facing.

The tackle on Slaughter was made by Max Joice, a top sportsman from Huddersfield, who was playing for Brighouse.

Slaughter was playing for Hemsworth.

Joice, who has also played for Wakefield-Emley and is currently captain at Skelmanthorpe Cricket Club, was alleged to have made a two-footed challenge on his opponent.

Now Slaughter has received £37,773.69 in compensation from Brighouse Town's insurers after the tackle which left him with two fractures to his right leg.

The incident happened in the game at Brighouse on February 15, 2003.

Slaughter said: "I was having a good game. I had scored the first goal and helped with the second goal, so we were leading 2-0 at half time.

"In the second half of the match, Max Joice made a challenge upon me. I thought it was a very reckless and dangerous tackle. He caught me just below the knee, leaving my right leg broken and bleeding.

"I was in extreme pain. It was immediately obvious that my leg was very badly damaged."

Slaughter was taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax, where he was diagnosed with a fracture to his right tibia and fibula.

Unfortunately, his progress was not straightforward. He had to remain in hospital for a week and underwent an operation to insert a metal plate into his right leg from ankle to knee.

Subsequently, he was advised by his consultant that his bones were not healing correctly. The plate was not removed until May 2004.

For over three months, he had to rely on his partner to take care of him as he was suffering from considerable pain in his leg and was unable to move around the house without assistance.

He was only able to return to his work as a builder in May 2004 after the metal plate had been removed from his leg.

John Davis, from the Newcastle office of national law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "The injuries that James Slaughter sustained were entirely due to a reckless and dangerous challenge.

"This sort of behaviour should not be tolerated on any football pitch and the level of compensation reflects the injuries that James sustained."

Mr Joice no longer plays for Brighouse.