The Biggest Coat Day

Thanks go to all our fans, Bury FC and Ashton United supporters and members of the public that contributed to Big Coat Day.

Homeless charities, Mustard Tree and Boaz Trust went away from Gigg Lane on Monday 3rd January with two huge vans of clothing. Add to that all the clothing, which Chris Hulse of Jobcentreplus arranged to be collected from workplaces around the city, plus clothing, which arrived at the ground too late for the vans, and a colossal record 5.5 tons of clothing will soon be sorted in the charities’ Ancoats depot for distribution to the city’s homeless and destitute.

Thanks are also due to the BBC North West news team who broadcast the club’s appeal at regular intervals from New Year’s Eve until Monday lunchtime.

There are too many individual tales to tell, but Ashton United’s chairman David Aspinall kindly brought six bag loads. FC United fan, Mick O’Farrell could only bring one bag full – but that was because he hitchhiked with it from Hatfield in Hertfordshire all the way to the match.

Some Gigg Lane residents, seeing what was going on, crossed the road to deliver donations. Thanks too for members of the cast of Zack currently showing at the Royal Exchange who came along and made donations.

Thespians attending the event included James Quinn, John Henshaw, Justin Moorhouse and Maxine Peakes, and they were duly rewarded by the team’s return to winning ways.

The final word goes to Nick at Mustard Tree, who commented: “Not only was the collection huge, importantly, the quality of the clothing was excellent, respecting the dignity of the homeless.???