A RUGBY club for youngsters with special educational needs has a brand new logo thanks to an internationally renowned Disney artist.

Giorgio Cavazzano - who has produced comics starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck and others in a career for Disney spanning 50 years - visited The Witney Wolves to unveil the new character.

The award-winning Italian artist has also produced a new superhero with hopes it will be used by special educational needs (SEN) tag rugby teams across the world.

Mr Cavazzano and Wolves head coach Jeremy Bristoe met last year and struck up an immediate friendship.

When the artist heard about Mr Bristoe’s role with the Wolves he wanted to meet the team – with a visit to the club last Christmas inspiring him to create two new characters.

One was a new Witney wolf especially for the team. The other, SuperTagDuck, is hoped to be used as a banner for young people with special educational needs internationally.

Mr Cavazzano said: “The first time I met Jeremy I was struck by the positive energy he offers to people.

“I met the team and I was inspired to create a character that was an emblem for people with special needs.”

The artist dropped into the Witney Rugby Football Club ground in Hailey Road to meet members of the Wolves with Mr Bristoe on Monday, where his new characters were unveiled.

Mr Bristoe said: “We want to make Witney the birthplace of this new emblem which will create a higher profile for special educational needs rugby.

“The response we’ve had to the characters has been absolutely overwhelming.”

The artist enjoyed a game of tag rugby with the team before drawing them original cartoons of Disney characters.

Jack Beecher-Rees, 20, who has autism and mild learning difficulties, has been playing with the Wolves for the past four years.

His mum Jane Beecher said: “For Jack, his thing is films, especially the Disney films, so meet a real life Disney artist was a dream come true.

“We are one big family, one big team. We embrace each other and are always there to support each other.”

The story will appear in Italian Disney comic Topolino, which is distributed across 75 countries.

Witney Wolves, comprising 36 six to 22-year-olds with disabilities including Down’s syndrome and autism, will fly the SuperTagDuck emblem at the International Wooden Spoon Festival, hosted by the club this June.