STOURBRIDGE have signed former Halesowen Town forward Luke Shearer.

The 23-year-old can play up front or on the wing and joins the club having recently left the Yeltz.

Despite his young age, Shearer has a wealth of experience in the local non-league scene but started his career as a trainee at Torquay United.

He returned to the Midlands in 2010 to join Tamworth and spent a spell on loan at Barwell before making a permanent switch to Hednesford Town in August 2012.

Shearer moved to Romulus for the 2013-14 season and impressed with the Coles Lane based outfit.

Spells with Bromsgrove Sporting and Alvechurch followed and the highly-rated forward was then snapped up by Redditch United in December 2014.

After a year-and-a-half with Redditch, helping them to challenge at the top of the Southern League Premier, Shearer signed for Sporting Khalsa in the summer of 2016.

He scored six times in ten games for the Midland League Premier outfit, earning a move up the non-league pyramid to Evo-Stik Premier side Hednesford in November 2016.

A return to Khalsa followed before he linked up with Halesowen in June, scoring three times in pre-season.

Shearer also scored in the Yeltz’s victories over Barwell and Grantham Town but recently left The Grove and impressed Stour boss Gary Hackett in training.

He will be in the squad fortonight’s Integro League Cup tie against his former club Alvechurch.

The club can also confirm that striker Justin Richards has signed registration forms but is still on the road back to full fitness.

Experienced forward Richards ruptured the patella tendon in both of his knees in last season’s FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round victory at Nantwich Town.