Mary's goal to help kids

UNITED AND ENGLAND KEEPER SUPPORTS CHILDREN IN NEED

- NEAL KEELING

ON THE pitch she is charismatic and passionate. Both United and England have reaped the benefits of Mary Earps' big personality and skills.

But the goalkeeper has not always been the confident and inspiring woman she is now. She has revealed how she was bullied at school - an experience which left her 'faded and dimmed.' 

She said: "My childhood was really great. I struggled when I went into secondary school. I had things in my backpack that were potentially weighing me down a bit. I moved around schools a bit and my first secondary school I did not have a good experience with at all. I struggled to find my feet, to find friends." 

She is supporting the BBC Children In Need's 'The Heaviest Backpack' campaign aimed at helping children weighed down by mental health issues, anxiety, and problems at home.