Billericay have signed former Ipswich Town defender Jerome Sobers.

The 25-year-old put pen to paper on a deal at New Lodge late last week.

And the 6ft 4in centre back is a welcome addition to Town’s defence, which saw the departure of the experienced Ian Cousins and Adam Flanagan to Maldon & Tiptree this summer.

Sobers has been signed from Conference South side Bromley, where he has been a firm fans’ favourite for the past four seasons.

He started his career as a teenager at Ford United, who are now called Redbridge United.

A string of impressive performances saw him snapped up by East Anglian giants Ipswich for £10,000 in 2004.

And following two seasons at Portman Road he went on loan to Brentford, before having spells at Chelmsford City, Braintree Town and Bromley.

Billericay manager Craig Edwards said: “We are thrilled to have signed Jerome.

“I gave ‘J’ his senior debut for Ford in the Conference South at the age of 17.

“And within no time Ipswich Town had signed him for a fee of £10,000.

“He is an athlete, a winner and a beast of a player, and he can make a big difference for us this season.”

Edwards has also moved to strengthen his defence this summer by bringing in full backs James Hawes and Ryan Adams, from Concord and Hampton respectively, and free-scoring centre back Matt Toms from Romford.