Paul Booth has given Lewes fans a huge boost by committing his future to the club.

Leading scorer Booth has signed a new contract which guarantees he will be at the Dripping Pan next season.

Manager Steven King wanted to sort out Booth's future as his current deal was due to run out in the summer.

Booth, signed last summer from Cambridge City, has been in prolific form recently, scoring nine goals in six games ahead of tomorrow's Sussex Senior Cup semi-final against Worthing at Horsham.

After struggling at the start of the season when he managed just one goal in eight games, Booth was placed on the transfer list.

However, King never wanted to lose a player he rates highly and the shock tactic worked with Booth scoring 24 goals in 29 appearances since then despite missing a month around Christmas due to injury.

King said: "In his first eight games Boothy scored once and he also missed eight games through injury but his stats aside from that speak for themselves.

"It makes you wonder what he would have scored if he had been firing on all cylinders from the start.

"He will end up with 30 goals this season which is fantastic for any goalscorer at whatever level."

Lewes are currently an outside bet for the play-offs but they are unbeaten in their last eight league games with four wins from their last five matches and a top five finish is not out of the question.

King, who remains cautious about his side's chances, said: "There would be a lot of interest in Boothy at the end of the season which is why we wanted to get this sorted out now.

"It is important to show we still mean business for next year regardless of what division we are in.

"I believe Boothy is a player who could cut it in the next division up, as he proved against Crawley in the FA Cup earlier this season.

"It is great for the club that he has decided to commit his future to us."