A community has come together to raise money for a self-employed scaffolder from Oxfordshire who suffered a major injury whilst playing football.
Dec-Allen Stokes suffered a double leg break and ankle dislocation in the 77th minute of a football match between Wantage Town and Ludlow on Saturday, August 31.
The 26-year-old was taken to hospital in the evening and has since had two successful surgeries at Shrewsbury Hospital to straighten the leg and repair the damage caused.
His injury means the road to recovery will be long and he will not play football again this season, but it also means the self-employed scaffolder will be unable to work for an extended period of time.
As a result he will be receiving no income, which is why Dec's good friend and teammate Luke Ballard, 25, set up a fundraiser to help support him.
The GoFundMe initially had a target of £500, but within days of it being set up it nearly doubled the target.
It currently sits at over £900 and can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dec-allenstokes
On the fundraising page, Mr Ballard wrote: "On behalf of Dec, myself and everyone associated with Wantage Town Football Club we welcome and massively appreciate any donations, no matter how big or small, to help support Dec throughout what will be a challenging period physically, mentally and financially."
Speaking on the support from the community, Mr Ballard told the Oxford Mail: "Initially, I expected a few people to donate more than £10 anyway, just knowing some of the people I'm friends with and some of the people from the club and how supportive they are.
"But I was also quite taken aback by a lot of other people who have donated."
The captain of Wantage Town Football Club said Dec has been "blown away" by the donations.
"He's massively appreciative and blown away and really thankful for the support and for the family nature of the club in general, so that was really pleasing to see."
“Dec’s only just joined Wantage this season and a couple of us have known him previously, but I’ve only known Dec myself since the start of July.
"Within those couple of months I've built up a really strong friendship with him, as have a lot of the other lads, and I think that speaks volumes about the kind of club that we've got and how we place the emphasis on supporting each other."
The team are also planning on doing fundraisers throughout the season at home matches to help support Dec further.
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