Dean Stuart Beckwith (born 18 September 1983) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Chatham Town. Career Early career Beckwith was born in Southwark, London and came through the youth system at Gillingham. He turned professional in July 2003 but was to make only two first team appearances for the Gills. He went out on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge where he scored his first senior goal against his future club Hereford in a televised 1–1 draw at Edgar Street. He captained Gillingham reserves in the 2004–05 season and made his debut for the first team in the FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth. He also had a loan spell at Margate of the Conference South, making five appearances. After making his Football League debut on 5 March 2005 against Rotherham United, he was released at the end of the season. Hereford United He signed for Hereford on 12 July 2005 and scored on his league debut in the 4–0 win over Scarborough. As the season progressed he became a first team regular at centre-back and scored the equaliser in the 2–2 draw at Grays Athletic, preserving Hereford's then unbeaten run in the Conference. Promotion to the Football League followed at the end of the season, and Beckwith signed a new contract shortly after Hereford's playoff triumph. With both Richard Rose and Phil Gulliver competing for places alongside captain Tamika Mkandawire, Beckwith made less appearances than in the previous season. He was also sent off twice in the season, his second red at Walsall was extremely questionable and prompted rare criticism of the referee by Graham Turner. He was the first choice centre back in the 2007–08 season, starting 46 out of a possible 55 first team matches. A broken jaw sustained against Chester City sidelined him for six matches, and he made his 100th league appearance for Hereford in the 2–0 win over Wrexham. Third place and promotion was secured with a match to spare, and Beckwith remained with Hereford during their solitary season in League One. He got the Bulls off to an initial good start, scoring the opening goal of the season against Leyton Orient, but this was a rare highlight in a season that saw Hereford finish bottom. Beckwith's last match for the Bulls saw him come on as a substitute against Northampton Town in a 2–1 defeat. At the end of