Boss Matt Henman was delighted yesterday after Danny Beaumont completed his return to Dereham Town.

The pacy attacker, who can play as a wideman or a main striker, made his name with the Magpies before joining King's Lynn Town for an undisclosed fee in June 2011. Beaumont enjoyed back-to-back promotions during his time at The Walks but decided to leave the club last week after they failed with their bid to be switched from the Northern Premier League to the Southern-based equivalent.

The 23-year-old was widely expected to return to Aldiss Park and Henman yesterday announced he had completed a deal to bring him back to the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division title-winners.

The Dereham manager said: 'I've got respect for Danny and what he achieved at Lynn. He's quite a quiet and shy character and at times when it got difficult he could have come back to us as we'd expressed an interest.

'But he showed great commitment and determination and I definitely think he's coming back as a better player and person. He makes our team stronger and he's proven at the level we're now going into.

'He's shown he can score goals at that level, he scored lots for us – including some important ones like against Lynn in the Norfolk Senior Cup final (May 2011) which was probably a reason they signed him – and everyone will welcome him back. It's an easy fit.

'Anyone who plays for King's Lynn for any length of time needs to be mentally tough. I thought he needed to improve that side of his game when he left us, and now he carries that mental toughness – which is required to make a step up.'

Beaumont, who bagged 112 goals in 207 appearances for Dereham before joining the Linnets, has signed a one-year contract with the newly-promoted Ryman Division One North club.

He found the net 35 times in 99 matches during his spell with Step Three-bound Lynn but did spend large parts of last season on the substitutes' bench.

Lynn boss Gary Setchell said of the Necton-based player: 'If he lived 30 miles the other side of Lynn, or had we been in the Southern League, he would have stuck at it. I'd like to wish him all the best and thank him for the part he played in helping us record back-to-back promotions.'