Football stadiums walk raises £4,000 for garden appeal

Jude Aston, an Aston Villa fanatic, joined Wolves diehard Jason Guy and his friend Gav Ingles – a supporter of arch rivals West Bromwich Albion – on the 21.6-mile Rivalries Aside walk. Their efforts were to raise money for the Children’s Ward garden at New Cross Hospital, part of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).

Starting at Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park at 8am, 14 people walked to Villa Park, then on to Albion’s The Hawthorns and Walsall’s Poundland Stadium before finishing at Molineux, home of Wolves, some eight and a half hours later.

They were all joined by former Birmingham and Wolves full back Kevin Ashley, who walked 13 miles from St. Andrew’s to Walsall before succumbing to an old knee injury.

Former Birmingham forward Paul Devlin cheered the walkers off at the start, and at Poundland Stadium they were greeted by Martin O’Connor – ex-skipper of Birmingham and Walsall – former Walsall player Mark Taylor, and one-time British light-welterweight Walsall boxing champion Martin Gethin.

To promote the walk, Jason and Gav even swapped shirts to wear the jerseys of their arch rivals as they neared the finish.

Jude, who has cerebral palsy, spent a lot of time in the Children’s Ward with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome where his right leg was doubled up after he suffered a reaction to treatment.

“It felt to finish the walk – it was a great challenge and I enjoyed being in the company of great people,” said Jude, 19 from Penn.

“There were lots of football fans who came together for this great cause – to create the best garden we can for the Children’s Ward at New Cross Hospital.

“It was a long, tough day and everyone was tired at the end, but it was all worth it.”

Since taking the brave decision to have his lower leg amputated, Jude now has a prosthetic limb which means he can walk unaided.

A blister meant Jude had to use his wheelchair on the walk, but he managed to hop the final 100 yards with physio Andre King to the Billy Wright statue outside Molineux.

The walkers braved early showers in Birmingham to finish in bright sunshine. Gav’s wife Sarah kept everyone hydrated with drinks and snacks en route, and Wolves fan Manny Singh Kang, who has raised more than £260,000 for Dementia UK, surprised everyone by handing out samosas.

Shortly after the walk, Jude had raised £2,057.99, Jason and Gav added £1,414.38 and another walker, schoolteacher Robbie Meakin, had contributed £460. Their pages can be found at JustGiving – Jude Aston, JustGiving – Jason and Gav’s fundraiser for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity and JustGiving – Robbie Meakin

Money raised swelled the £30,000 garden appeal to £18,103.75. Jason, 46, and wife Aimee, 40, from Trysull, previously raised £14,171.08 from fundraising runs and Jason and former footballer Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock having tattoos.

Their daughter Olivia, now three, spent six weeks in the Neonatal Unit at New Cross and has 1pc36, an intellectual disorder.

Kirsty Lewis, Senior Matron for Acute Children’s Services at RWT, said: “Well done and thank you to everyone who took part. We’re really looking forward to getting on with the designs for the garden and can’t wait for people’s efforts to come to fruition.”

Amanda Winwood, RWT Charity Development Manager, said: “This is another great fundraising effort towards our total and I thank all the walkers for their time and effort doing this – I hope there weren’t too many sore feet and legs afterwards!”

ENDS

• For further information, please call Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or email tim.nash2@nhs.net