DREAMS of lifting the famous FA Cup came true for Bolton youngsters and their boxing hero Amir Khan.

As Bolton Wanderers prepared for their quarter-final clash with Premier League Champions Arsenal, Amir and pupils atSt Joseph's Primary School, in Shepherd Cross Street, got their hands on the trophy.

Olympic Silver Medal winning boxer Amir, an avid Wanderers fan, told the pupils that he would be keeping his fingers crossed for his favourite team.

"I am delighted that Bolton have got through to the quarter-finals. I only hope they make it through to the semis," he said. Pupils and staff were delighted to see that despite his stardom Amir had not forgotten them, as he used to help out at St Joseph's after-school club.

He turned up to surprise the children. And Sky Sports filmed the pupils talking to Amir as part of its pre-match build-up to the game.

Linda Wood, acting headteacher, said: "It was a really exciting day and fantastic for the children.

"A lot of them know Amir already because he has been in the school before."

Amir, who is hotly tipped to be turning professional in the near future, also had to duck some tough questions put to him by some clever pupils.

Mrs Wood added: "The pupils asked him some really good questions, and then to have the FA Cup in school as well was just a bonus."

Mrs Wood said that the whole school community had got behind the Wanderers' FA Cup effort.

She said that one of the dinner ladies was a season ticket holder and ran up to touch the FA Cup for luck when she came to work.

However, Bolton Wanderers are not the only local side to reach the final stages of a cup competition, as the boy's football team at St Joseph's have also reached the quarter-finals of the Catholic Cup competition.

Lauren Hinds, aged 11, said: "It was great to have a really famous boxer in our school.

"We got to find out what encouraged him to become a boxer and how much he enjoyed the Olympics. "

Lauren also said that it was an "honour" to see the real FA Cup.

Meanwhile little Alexandra Foy, aged four, added: "It was a bit scary because he fights men, but I wasn't scared because he had a smiley face."