Fans' trek to aid struggling club

The Quakers have struggled to attract fans to the Darlington Arena

Two fans of Darlington FC are planning to walk 130 miles to raise cash for the troubled club.

The Quakers went into administration last month, with reported debts approaching �5m.

Club bosses have appealed to fans to help with fundraising efforts in the hope of keeping the team going.

Now fans Andrew Park and Keirran Lamb are preparing for a trek to Lincoln in time for the Coca-Cola League Two match between the clubs on 17 March.

The club went into administration on 25 February, weeks after bosses said the Darlington Arena might have to be downsized due to falling attendance.

The �20m stadium has a capacity of 25,000, but the average home crowd is below 3,000. The west stand was subsequently closed to cut costs.

'Moral support'

The two friends, both 17, have been training hard for their trek.

Mr Park, who works for Darlington Council, said: "We wanted to show some moral support for the club in their time of need.

"Keirran and I have been watching the club for years, and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, even though there have been good seasons and bad seasons.

"We just felt that we wanted to do something to raise funds for the club to keep it going.

"We've never done anything like this before, the furthest we've walked is from Darlington to Middleton St George, about five miles away."

The pair, who plan to camp out on the way, will split the trek into three stages, the first of which kicks off on 15 March.

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