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James Edward Hayter (born 9 April 1979, Sandown on the Isle of Wight) is an English footballer.

After progressing through the youth system with south coast club AFC Bournemouth, Hayter made his début for them in the 1996-97 season in a 3-1 Division Two defeat to Peterborough. Despite a promising start, he failed to gain a first team place and moved to Salisbury City on loan.

His performances there earned him a recall to Bournemouth from manager Mel Machin, and in October 2000 he equalled the club record for the number of goals scored in a match when he scored 4 against Bury. He was soon established as one of the most consistent and sought-after strikers outside the Premier League, and the proudest moment of his Bournemouth career came in May 2003 when he helped them achieve victory over Lincoln City in the Division Three playoff final.

On 24 February 2004 he came on as an 84th minute substitute while Bournemouth were 3-0 up at home to Wrexham and scored the fastest football league hat-trick ever in less than 140 seconds, beating the record set by Jimmy Scarth of Gillingham in 1952.

Hayter finished as Bournemouth's top scorer for the 2005-06 season, with 22 goals to his name, which proved vital in saving the Cherries from relegation. While struggling to score for Bournemouth in the 2006-07 season, he was a vital part of the Bournemouth first-team and scored twice against Oldham Athletic F.C. (3-2 win), the winner at Chesterfield F.C. (1-0), one in the 5-0 win against Leyton Orient F.C.

On 30 May 2007 Hayter signed for Doncaster Rovers for a club record transfer fee of £200,000. He was Sean O'Driscoll's first signing as Doncaster Rovers boss.^[1]

It was perhaps surprising that Hayter had signed for another League One club, as his goalscoring exploits had suggested that he was prolific enough to play in the Championship or even the Premier League.

• James Hayter career stats at Soccerbase