A teenager from Blackburn will be carrying the ball on to the pitch for the upcoming Rugby World Cup Final.

Jacob Pickering, a rugby player at Blackburn Rugby Union Football Club, is a young star of the Land Rover Defender advertisements.

The 14-year-old was born without a left-hand due to a condition called amniotic band syndrome.

The Walton-le-Dale High School student has been asked to carry the ball on to the pitch for the Rugby World Cup Final, which takes place in France next month, as a sponsor with Land Rover.

And as he started playing rugby aged seven, he was "delighted" to accept.

His mum Kathryn Litherland said: "Jacob is featured in adverts throughout the Rugby World Cup, and we travelled to all different places to film them, with one being in Blackburn.

"He was delighted to say yes to be the face of Land Rover, and we all think it is so crazy.

"He has images all over France, and my friend in Australia sent me a photo of Jacob on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald paper.

"He's also in magazines and all over, but he has been really laidback about it and is loving it.

"He's really excited because he loves playing rugby, it's like a dream come true."

Jacob's rare condition is caused by strands of the amniotic sac that separate and entangle digits, limbs, or other parts of the foetus.

In 2019, his life was transformed when he received a new state-of-the-art bionic arm from Bristol-based Open Bionics.

Kathryn added: "We went to a launch party in Paris with Idris Elba and Jason Fox where they were taking pictures and shaking his hands.

"I think it is so nice that on the adverts you can see his Blackburn Rugby Club kit.

"The whole point of this is inclusivity and diversity. For Jacob, it came at such a good time as he was being held back a little bit, but it now shows anyone can be part of a team even if they have a disability."

The Rugby World Cup Final will take place on Saturday, October 28.