'Whizzy Rascal' takes Warrington Wolves Super League match by storm

A young driver in a mini BMW has sparked hilarious scenes after driving off with the match ball ahead of Warrington's first home Super League game.

The youngster, who has become a social media sensation and has been dubbed 'Whizzy Rascal', sent the stadium into laughter after driving straight past the referee, refusing to hand over the ball.

After driving to the far side of the pitch she was encouraged to turn around by players, but then decided it would then be more fun to carry on to the opposite touchline.

She was only stopped when the Wolves' mascot stood in her path, finally taking the ball and handing it to the players so the match could begin.

Warrington has said it wants to keep the identity of its new social media sensation a closely-guarded secret, but has promised there is more to come.

Warrington emerged 34-10 winners over Castleford but Whizzy remained the talking point.

Warrington chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick said: "I can't let you into too much but a lot of people have got the sex wrong.

"People are assuming it's a boy and I'm not able to confirm or deny. But we'll be doing it for the full season and there is a lot more to come.

"Against Catalans which is our next home game, we've also got an appearance from a mechanical dragon that will do battle with Whizzy Rascal."

Players from both Warrington and visitors Castleford all saw the funny side of the delay and it also brought a huge smile to new Wolves coach Daryl Powell.

"It was awesome wasn't it?" said Powell. "It couldn't have been any better to be honest.

"If he had taken it to the middle and then got back you'd have said 'he's fantastic, that kid'. But he's created a bit of theatre which everybody enjoyed. It was awesome."

Shaun Briscoe, the former England full-back who is Warrington's commercial account manager, got a close-up view of the action after compering the pre-match build-up.

"We'd been planning it for a few weeks and a few people asked if we were sure about it," Briscoe said.

"Initially we were going to make it a remote control vehicle but we decided to go with just the child. We're in a sport that needs evolution and change. There will be a lot more to come on the back of this."

The mini BMW belongs to local car manufacturer Halliwell Jones, who have the naming rights to Warrington's stadium and are about to enter into a new five-year sponsorship deal.