Sky high generosity sees Gers fans dish out cash to charities

TWO charities have plenty to shout about after netting a bumper cash boost, thanks to kind-hearted football fans.

Rangers supporters have coined in £60,000 following a fundraising drive to score a Red Arrows flypast to if the Light Blues clinch the league title this season.

However, after the bid was declined by the RAF, the Bridgeton Loyal Rangers Supporters Club instead opted to split the cash between Erskine Hospital and Glasgowbased Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation.

Lee Calder, secretary of the Gers fan group, said: “Everyone has come together and done it as one Rangers family. We are proud as anything.

“Erskine is a big one a lot of

Rangers fans and the club get behind and Emmie Smillie is personal to a lot of members on the bus.

“We were actually just hoping for £14,000 at the start and then it just kept rising and rising.

“It was £30,000 in like six or seven hours. People just got the bug for it as a special thing to celebrate the 55 [titles].

“The two charities mean so much to us and a lot of us knew Emmie as a person before she passed away.

“So it’s quite personal to us to be able to hand it over to that charity.”

The supporters club had initially hoped to have the iconic Red Arrows fly over Ibrox, George Square, and Bridgeton on the day Steven Gerrard’s men lift the Premiership title.

Bridgeton man Lee, 38, added: “The RAF ultimately said they couldn’t do it but sent us a nice letter wishing us well.

“We’re absolutely gutted we won’t be able to be together on the day to celebrate the title but we’d just like to thank all of the Rangers fans for backing us.”

Sara Bannerman, head of fundraising and communications at Erskine. said: “We are delighted and extremely grateful to be named as beneficiaries to part of the unused donations.

“We salute the wider Rangers family who continue to go above and beyond in their

Fans had hoped to arrange for the Red Arrows to fly over George Square and Ibrox Stadium if Rangers clinch the league title this season unfaltering support of our cherished veterans and thank them for their generosity.”

An RAF spokesman said: “Such flypasts are normally reserved for state events. Nevertheless, we would like to offer our congratulations to the supporters association.”