In pictures: Big turnout ensures celebrity charity match will return to Shrewsbury

The match, which was raising money for Shropshire charity PDSA, featured a host of stars, including X Factor winner James Arthur, EastEnders' Jake Wood, Calum Best, MC Harvey, and Dan Osborne, formerly of The Only Way is Essex.

The tie between 'Dog Town' and 'Cat City' finished 4-4, with rapper MC Harvey bagging a hat-trick along the way. It went to penalties and Cat City emerged as the winners. Arthur made amends for an earlier miss from the spot when he tucked home in the shoot-out, which ended 7-6.

Organiser of the match, Kevin Cooper, said they had been thrilled at the backing it had received and would be looking to return next year.

He said: "It was a great day. We had a lot of goals and to finish the way it did with a penalty shoot-out was perfect.

"We had a good turnout and ended up with 2,000 people which was brilliant. They made it a fantastic atmosphere, and it was nice that they got the chance to meet some of the players afterwards.

"We will definitely be looking to do it next year and hopefully we can get five or six thousand people down here."

Queues of fans lined up at the end, with Calum Best, Jake Wood, and James Arthur spending nearly an hour posing for pictures and signing autographs.

Mr Cooper said the players had thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the Greenhous Meadow. He said: "It was a great day out. The guys loved having the chance to play out there and you could see how seriously they took it. James Arthur looked devastated when he missed his penalty."

Mr Cooper also thanked Shrewsbury Town for hosting the event. He said the club had been "brilliant from start to finish".

Thousands of people turned out to watch the contest, with lines of spectators eager to catch a selfie with the stars after the final whistle.

James Arthur, who spent a long time meeting the crowds after the final whistle, said he had been delighted – and surprised – by the number of people who attended.

He said: "There was an unbelievable turn out. I thought there might be a couple of hundred who came down but there were loads – it was great."

Arthur said he was delighted to be on the winning side but that it was also a privilege to be able to raise money for charity while having fun.

He said: "I was really pleased to win, it was great but I am also happy that we could help out with the charity which is a really good cause.

"I love animals and to be able to play football with a few cool people and raise money for PDSA is great."

The crowd at the Greenhous Meadow was also praised by Calum Best – son of the legendary footballer George – who posed for shirtless selfies with scores of his adoring fans.

Best, who was a late addition to the line-up, also said he had previously avoided charity football matches but had enjoyed the game so much that he would be doing more.

He said: "Thanks to all the local people for making us feel really welcome.

"It was a really good day, I loved it. Kevin Cooper, the organiser, has been inviting me to play in a match for a while but I never came because for a long time I felt a bit of pressure. But as I get older I have been playing five-a-side a lot and this was fantastic. I will be back for sure."

Best added: "More than anything it is a great football ground, a great welcoming crowd and the charity PDSA is a really good cause."

Jake Wood, whose on-screen persona, EastEnders' Max Branning, is currently languishing behind bars, said he had thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet the crowds and raise money for charity – although he ended up on the losing side after missing a vital penalty.

He said: "We have all had a great time. It's been a wonderful day and I am really proud to be part of a charity event like this for the PDSA.

"The crowd were awesome. They were wicked and they made plenty of noise."

Hat-trick hero MC Harvey, formerly a rapper with So Solid Crew, said he hoped they would be back to play in Shrewsbury soon.

He said: "It was superb. Brilliant. It is a good day but the main thing is it is a good cause. The crowd was brilliant, too. It was a great crowd and Shrewsbury is a fantastic place. We will definitely be back."

Johann Alexander, of the PDSA, said they had been thrilled with the response to the game and would be looking to hold another.

He said: "It was our first time we have ever organised a football match and it has been fantastic. We obviously wanted to hold it in our local community as our home base is Telford. It was fantastic, we saw a great game. I think everyone had a great day and most importantly it looks like it raised a lot of money to help poorly pets."

He added: "Shrewsbury Town have been fantastic for us, too. It was a really good event for the charity – and hopefully we will have many more to come."