Alan Stubbs has made his first two signings as St Mirren boss.

The Saints have paid their largest fee for a player in 25 years to sign Josh Heaton from Darlington, while striker Cody Cooke joins from Truro.

Heaton has penned a three-year-deal and Cook joins on a two-year contract.

Both players were members of England striker Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy, which seeks to launch non-league talent into professional football.

Stubbs says the Buddies beat off stiff competition to sign the highly-rated Heaton.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It's a sign of intent and I'd like to thank the board for putting their trust in me.

"You only have to look at the clubs who were wanting to get Josh, and to have got him is quite a coup."

Heaton added: "I can't wait to get going. The thought of playing against the big teams and striving to be the best and play first-team football was something that brought me here.

"Every time I step on that park I want to win. I want to keep a clean sheet and I want our strikers to score as many goals as possible. I want to win games and I want to win trophies."

Stubbs says Cooke "has a real good work ethic about him".

The striker told St Mirren's website: "I'm over the moon. It's a huge opportunity and football is all about opportunities - I want to grab this one with both hands.

"I'm delighted to be here. To get a call from Alan was something that I was just delighted about.

"I feel ready for the test and it should be an exciting one."