Fan will be stepping out for a good cause
AFEARLESS football fan is planning to walk from Stockport County’s Edgeley Park ground all the way to the Bradford Park Avenue ground – and all in a good cause.
Damon Carroll, 41, will set off from Edgeley at midnight on Saturday, April 22 and he expects the roughly 50-mile walk to take at least 12 hours.
County are playing Bradford at their ground on the day, so he is hoping to get there before the end of the match where he will be greeted by his family, who are travelling to Bradford to meet him.
Damon, who lives in Davenport in Stockport, is taking on the epic challenge in aid of Stockport charity Stroke Information, after getting to know its funder Nick Clarke through Stockport County, where Nick is a tunnel steward.
He said: “Because Nick likes his football I thought this would be a good way of raising money.
“Nick actually used to play for County before he suffered a stroke and he is a really nice guy.
“I just wanted to raise awareness, really, of the after care and the stuff the charity does for people.
“I think it needs publicising.”
Nick set up the charity after suffering a stroke in 2012 when he was 42 and now works to support other sufferers as well as highlighting the symptoms of stroke and supporting prevention work.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted that Damon has thought of the idea to raise muchneeded awareness not just of my own situation, but also of the borough’s 5,000 stroke survivors and their families.”
Damon has set himself a fundraising target of £2,500 and says he thinks the biggest challenge will be keeping himself occupied during the walk.
“I have never driven, so I have always walked and cycled everywhere,” he said.
“I used to cycle from Bredbury to Altrincham for work every day.”
“I enjoy walking and it keeps you fit. I don’t think weather or hills or anything will be an issue, it will be keeping myself occupied as I’ll be on my own.”
For more information or to make a donation visit justgiving.com/ campaigns/charity/ stoke-information/ steadyeddie, text SCFC70 and the amount to 70070, or e-mail nick@strokeinformation.co.uk.