Parents so proud of England star Lauren Hemp’s success at Euros

The parents of England star Lauren Hemp have spoken of their pride in the Lionesses as they soak up the Euros triumph with their daughter in Switzerland.

Fresh from a late night of celebration with Sarina Wiegman’s victorious squad, Julie and Kevin Hemp said they were preparing to head home to Norfolk with beaming smiles fixed on their faces.

“We’re so proud of her,” Mr Hemp told the BBC. “From first kicking a ball when she was probably about four years old and going along with her sister to Norwich City Centre of Excellence, she was there because she was just following us about and her older sister.

“Then she decided she wanted to get into it, and she was a natural – it’s fantastic.”

Mr and Mrs Hemp have seen Lauren rise to football stardom with Manchester City and England but still appreciated how special it was to see her win a second European Championship medal on Sunday.

The forward’s parents, from North Walsham, have also enjoyed being able to see their daughter every few days, rather than every few months, with Kevin based in Zurich throughout the tournament.

Julie returned home after the group stages but was back in Basel for the final with their other daughter, Amy, as England beat Spain in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

Mrs Hemp said: “She’s been upbeat through all of it. The girls knew they were going to win, they’ve been fighting as a team, they’ve got so much resilience.

“The girls gave it their all, it was fantastic. Lauren ran her socks off.”

The couple were in the thick of the celebrations as England celebrated retaining their European crown.

Mrs Hemp added: “We all had the after-party last night and we left there about 3am.”

Watching on from back home was friend and former team-mate Flo Allen, who is head of women’s football at Norwich City.

“I’m so proud of Lauren,” she said. “I think everyone in Norfolk is super proud of her and what she’s achieved, still at a very young age. At only 24, she is just coming into her peak in terms of a footballer.

“She’s an even better person and she really does wear and fly the Norfolk flag high when she represents her country.

“I’m just beaming with pride and how well did she play last night? She was unlucky not to get a goal in the first 10 minutes when she stole the ball in the Spain box.

“She’s done super well and so have the Lionesses.”

Allen and Hemp, who turns 25 next week, played together at Bristol City previously.

The Canaries chief said it was always obvious that Hemp was headed for the top of the game.

She continued: “I was very fortunate to play alongside Lauren from around the ages of eight all the way through to when I played for Bristol and she moved the year after.

“We ended up playing together for just under 10 years of our lives and I got to know her well as a player, as a friend and she’s an outstanding footballer.

“Even at those young ages when we played football for Norwich City’s girls centre of excellence, you would give her the ball and she would run rings around people.

The England team fly back today for a special reception with the prime minister at Downing Street, with an open-top bus tour to follow in London on Tuesday.