Thetford Town players have made a donation of more than £,2000 to support the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.

The money has been raised from travel expenses for the club’s last game of the season, and from the “fines” fund - which the players impose on their own team-mates, which normally funds an end-of-season trip.

“Nigel (Armes – club chairman) mentioned how a couple of local clubs had made contributions to the NHS and I put it in the club Whatsapp group,” explained long-serving right-back Sam Bond. “The lads jumped at the idea to help. When we added together the money we realised we had over £2,000.

“Nigel mentioned how a local company is producing protective medical visors, instead of their normal product. We used the Ely expenses (£300) – alongside funding from the club – to order 250 masks.

“That kick-started other ideas. We have a fund for stuff like players being late for training, wearing new boots, new haircut, pictures in the paper.

“We were going to use the money from that on a trip overseas but decided to donate it all to the NHS. The lads are really pleased to help - our football club is a big part of the community in itself and it makes me proud that we are able to share some positive news in such difficult times.”

The donation has been made directly to West Suffolk Hospital, while the visors will be distributed to Thetford’s School Lane Doctor’s Surgery at the end of this week. From there, they will be given to healthcare workers and carers.

Meanwhile, Town midfielder and barber Max Melanson has offered a free haircut to NHS staff. Max opened a shop in the town earlier this year, only to be forced to close soon after when the pandemic struck. He has urged NHS workers to make contact, ready for when he is able to re-open. You can visit his Facebook page – Max The Barber – for details.