BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent trio Matt Cripps, Connor Witherspoon and Tom Richardson have put pen to paper on new deals at North Road.

The trio were key members of the club's Ryman League division north title-winning squad.

Cripps joined at the start of the 2014/15 campaign and has been a pivotal figure in his three seasons at Regent, making 158 appearances.

He was crowned joint-manager's player-of-the-season at the club's presentation evening on Friday night.

Witherspoon featured in 52 matches last season, having been a summer signing from Brentwood Town.

He had an excellent first season and won two awards on Friday night - the players' player prize and also joint-manager's player, alongside Cripps.

Richardson played 48 times, scoring 27 goals, in his debut season at North Road.

He too was a summer signing from Brentwood.

More players are due to sign in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the club have confirmed that full-back Russell Malton is leaving the club for 'geographical reasons'. As such, he cannot commit for the forthcoming season.

Malton made 120 appearances for Regent after signing in the summer of 2014.