Date / Year of birth: 22nd June 1977

Position: Centre-back

Season of first appearance: 2009/10

Season of last appearance: 2009/10

Also played for: Colchester United (2+1,0), Southend United (18+2,1), Heybridge Swifts, Welling United, Chelmsford City, Grays Athletic, Ford United, Redbridge, Bishop's Stortford, St.Albans City, Maidstone United, Croydon Athletic, Thamesmead Town and Brentwood Town

Tough 6' 1" tall defender born in Chelmsford who started his career in Colchester's youth ranks and eventually progressed to the first team squad. Ben made his senior debut for the Essex club as an 18 year-old in a 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe in Division Three on 30.9.95 and played twice more in the first team before being released at the end of the 1996/97 season.

He joined Southend in the summer of 1997 and Ben made his debut for the Shrimpers on 16.9.97 when he came on as a substitute after 71 minutes of a 1-0 home defeat against Derby in the League Cup. He made his first start for Southend in their next game on 20.9.97 as they entertained Fulham in a Division Two match and Ben became an instant hero by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win. For the next few months he was a regular in the side and on 6.12.97 Ben was sent off just nine minutes after coming on as a second half substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Fulham in the FA Cup. He'd scored once from a total of 20 appearances (two as sub) for Southend when he was released at the end of the 1997/98 campaign.

Ben started 1998/99 with Isthmian League Premier Division club Heybridge but at the start of October 1998 he briefly moved on to Welling.

Ben left the Conference club after just a few weeks and in November 1998 he rejoined Heybridge. He finished the 1998/99 season there and scored a total of six goals from 33 league outings. Ben made another 21 league appearances for Heybridge during the 1999/00 campaign and scored five times before he signed for Southern League club Chelmsford in March 2000 for a small fee.

Ben spent over two years with Chelmsford before linking up with Grays in May 2002.

He made ten Isthmian League Premier Division appearances for Grays without scoring during the first half of the 2002/03 season and in December 2002 Ben joined Ford.

He scored once from 25 Premier Division outings (one as sub) for Ford during the remainder of the 2002/03 campaign and then made a further 32 league appearances (one as sub), scoring twice, during 2003/04.

Ford changed their name to Redbridge ahead of 2004/05 and started the new season in the Conference South. Ben made 19 appearances (four as sub) without scoring during the early part of the campaign before signing for Bishop's Stortford at the start of November 2004.

He stayed with the Conference South outfit until January 2006 when he left the Bishops to join their league rivals St.Albans.

Ben made 22 appearances for St.Albans and then moved on to Welling in September 2006.

His second spell with the Wings lasted until the end of the 2006/07 season and in May 2007 Ben signed for Maidstone.

In July 2007 he was sent off for the Stones in a friendly against Fisher and Ben went on to score once from 32 Isthmian League Premier Division outings during the 2007/08 campaign. He stayed with Maidstone for the 2008/09 season too and made a further 28 league appearances without scoring up to the end of March 2009 when Margate made an attempt to sign him on transfer deadline day.

Ben was a non-contract player at Maidstone but Margate's efforts to secure his services for the last few weeks of 2008/09 ended up with the club being in dispute with the Stones. Margate's Chief Executive Keith Piper accused Maidstone of stalling Ben's proposed move and claimed that after Ben had registered with Margate just eight minutes before the transfer deadline Maidstone didn't do their part and they didn't release his registration until the following day.

Keith Piper told the Thanet Times "I was told Maidstone wouldn't stand in his way but they were obviously seeking not to let him go. They rung Ben on Tuesday afternoon to ask him whether he would be prepared to play that evening. Ben said no, he'd agreed to go to Margate, but when he went to the ground, he was on the teamsheet. They obviously hoped by delaying his release until after the deadline that Ben would remain their player. But they didn't know he had already signed forms and been registered for Margate."

The Thanet Times described Ben as being "in limbo" and he contacted the Professional Footballers Association to request their assistance. Meanwhile Keith Piper said of Stones' chairman Paul Bowden-Brown "He couldn't wait to get him off the wage bill, now he's making all this fuss. The fact remains whether we can crowbar the league out of their fixed view that he can't play for us. Ben's our player and shouldn't be penalized. If the club wanted him we should be prepared to stand by him and that's what we're going to do. Even if we can't get him on the pitch between now and the end of the season, he will be a key player for us next season." However Piper conceded there'd been an illegal approach and Margate's management team of Terry Yorath and Neville Southall were reprimanded and fined by the club as a result. However Piper also told the Thanet Times "It actually turned out that Ben phoned us first."

The dispute rumbled on with Ben not playing for either Margate or Maidstone and in the Isle of Thanet Gazette on 10.4.09 Terry Yorath said "We've hit a brick wall - his club haven't been very helpful."

Ben's move to Margate was finally completed just after the end of the 2008/09 campaign and at the start of May 2009 Terry Yorath told the Gazette "He's a versatile player. I want to use him mostly at centre-half but he can also be the holding player in midfield. He's also a leader, which we need."

Ben was appointed as Margate's captain and on 18.7.09 he scored in his second friendly outing for the club - a 4-2 home defeat against his old club Grays. On the eve of the new season Terry Yorath told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "I looked at our defenders last season and it was clear they were all young and we didn't have a talker. That's why I've brought Ben to the club. He'll be of great value to the team."

The Gazette also interviewed Ben who said "We've got a young team and the gaffer wants me to come in and lead them. The talking comes with experience, as well as being in the pro game for a few years. I know where I want people to go and, from a selfish point of view, I don't want to do unnecessary running. The game's easier when you can talk."

Ben made his competitive debut for Margate in a 1-0 win over Ramsgate at Hartsdown Park on 28.7.09 in the first leg of a tie played for the Isle of Thanet Gazette Cup. The Gazette said he was "commanding" and described Ben as "a big man at the back who won't take any nonsense and can also play." The paper continued "He's a top organiser and a great talker, a manager's dream with his chat".

Ben had started each of Margate's first eight matches of the season but on 31.8.09 he was taken off during a 1-0 home defeat against Cray in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The Isle of Thanet Gazette said he was "hardly old at 32 but it looked like two games over the Bank Holiday weekend were too much for him". The paper continued "Lewis is here to run the defence and talk the young centre-halves through matches. On Monday the skipper didn't even have the energy in his legs to jump for headers, never mind help others through the game."

After the Cray game Ben was dropped and he missed Margate's next two matches before returning in a 3-2 defeat at Sutton in the FA Cup on 15.9.09. Striker Lloyd Blackman had replaced him as captain by then but Ben started each of the next seven games in the heart of the defence. In its report on a 0-0 draw with visitors AFC Hornchurch on 26.9.09 the Thanet Times picked him out as being Margate's best player and said Ben "used his experience at the back".

The last match of his run in the side was a 3-1 defeat at Wealdstone in the FA Trophy on 17.10.09 and it turned out to be Ben's final competitive outing as he fell out of favour again after that. On 29.10.09 he broke a finger as a Margate Reserves side comprised entirely of first team players won 5-2 at Southwood against Ramsgate's reserves and that was Ben's last appearance in a Margate shirt.

New manager Mark Butler left him out of his first matchday squad for a game at Hastings on 7.11.09 and towards the end of November 2009 Ben left Margate and joined Croydon Athletic. He'd made a total of 15 appearances without scoring and the Isle of Thanet Gazette described Ben as being a "big-money centre-half". Mark Butler told the paper "He's officially left the club but, as far as the playing side goes, he hadn't been involved for three weeks. We wish him all the best for the future."

Ben went on to score once from 16 league outings for Croydon Athletic before the end of 2009/10 as they won the Isthmian League Division 1 South title but he left the club at the end of the season.

In August 2010 he joined Division 1 North outfit Thamesmead Town but Ben didn't feature in their first team before moving on to Brentwood at the start of September 2010.

He made six sporadic appearances (four as sub) without scoring for Brentwood in Division 1 North before leaving the club early in 2011 and dropping out of senior football.