King's Lynn Town's title hopes were boosted last night after goal machine Jason Turner joined them from Wellingborough Town.

Turner, 30, who bagged a hat-trick at The Walks in December during a 4-3 defeat for his side, is the joint-top goalscorer in the United Counties Premier Division with 23 goals.

Linnets boss Gary Setchell admitted he was delighted that Turner had opted to join his title-chasing outfit after beating a host of clubs to capture the red-hot striker's signature.

'It's a statement of our intent because competition for places is always key at a football club,' said Setchell.

'Bringing in a player of Jason's quality is a big coup for us. A number of clubs have come in for him, not only at our level but a higher level too, but he feels King's Lynn was the right move for him. He scored a lot of goals last year for Wellingborough and he's done the same again this year.

'With the strikers we've got at this club and the service our players can provide, once he's in the team and firing, Jason gives us another great option. He's a clever player, he's a goalscorer and we've seen this season he can hurt sides - he did it to us by scoring a hat-trick in 10 minutes.

'Jason was a long shot. He lives in Kettering which is a fair way away, so I'm delighted. He's a player I've been keen on and I've known about for a few seasons. His goalscoring record was outstanding last season, as it has been throughout his career. His addition is a real shot in the arm for us for the rest of the season.'

Turner bagged 24 goals in 25 appearances for Wellingborough last season after joining the Doughboys from Deeping Rangers.

The much-travelled frontman has scored two other hat-tricks against Lynn while playing for Rothwell Town and Grantham. He has also played for Kettering Town, Stamford and Histon among others.

Setchell said: 'We've brought in Ashley Deeney and now Jason Turner in recent weeks and you've always got to keep improving. I've had full backing from the chairman and we're all absolutely delighted to have Jason here.

'I don't want to be letting players go because everybody has got a part to play. People will have to be patient because we've got a great squad and there's competition for places. Last season we beat St Neots 4-2 and they instantly signed three players and that got them over the line. They freshened things up and it worked.

'We will keep our feet on the ground but I feel we've got a better chance of winning the league this season than we did at this stage last.'

Turner will be unable to make his Linnets debut tomorrow as their league match at Irchester United has been postponed.