YouTube stars help non-league side break crowd record

Football fans from across the UK and abroad have helped a non-league side resoundingly break its previous attendance record.

Witham Town's home clash against Norfolk side Gorleston attracted 1,205 people. The Essex club's previous record was 898 people during a 2014 play-off final.

It followed an appeal by Ellis Platten, whose AwayDays YouTube channel has almost 600,000 subscribers.

The big day out was arranged with his fellow content creator Alfie Indra, who said it was "a great turnout" and would "really, really help the club financially".

"It's a club that doesn't have a tonne of cash and we've managed to raise a good fair few thousand pounds for them, which for a club at this level, that's huge I think," said Indra, 29.

Match kick-off was at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, ending in a 2-2 draw for the Isthmian League North club.

Platten, 28, who was born in Gorleston, watched a game there in 2017 and said he was inspired by the support of resident super fan James Beardwell.

He had hoped the appeal would attract big numbers, but on seeing the crowds said: "I didn't expect it to go like this... it's insane, I can't believe what we've built - and also never focus on the big leagues, always focus on the niche stories."

Club vice-chairman Jim Purtill, 73, said: "Ellis is fantastic because none of this would have happened without him. He's been here before and we know him and he's done a big favour for the club.

"It's great to have a big good crowd, a big atmosphere [and] obviously the money that comes with it, but I think the main thing is just raise the awareness of Isthmian League football and non-league football generally."

Some of the people attending the game from places including Edinburgh, Cornwall and Barrow, had their transport paid for by Platten.

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