A SPORTS club has accomplished a great feat by raising money to help orphans stranded in Ukraine.

Tendring District Youth Football Club walked from seven miles from Clacton Pier to Walton Pier, raising more than £1,400 for the Hope and Homes for Children charity.

Hope and Home for children is a charity aiming to find every child a loving family by getting rid of institutionalisation.

Helen Wilson, of Walton, and club welfare officer said: “With the crisis in Ukraine, all our hearts are with them and seeing the children hit home.

“My husband Darren, who is the club chair suggested we do a walk to raise money in aid of the crisis.

“I agreed and saw Hope and Homes for Children on TV and the great work they are doing and wanted to get involved.”

The club walked from pier to pier on Saturday, March 26, and received great community support, smashing their initial target of £250.

After their journey, the children were boosted by Walton businesses that congratulated them on their achievement.

Helen added: “We had a welcoming party at Alice Beach Hut in Walton, who also donated to the cause which was very kind of them.

“I really didn’t expect us to exceed our target by so much, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone that got involved.”

Due to the walk, the club was contacted by Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP, an Essex law firm.

The firm was inspired by the work Tendring District Youth Football Club had done and donated £500 to Hope and Homes children through the firm’s foundation.

Tendring District Youth Football Club was founded in August 2021 and has made strides to support the community as much as possible.

Darren Wilson, club chairman said: “Every year we want to do something big for charities, we decided to vote on who to help and this year it was a prostate cancer charity.

“We are trying to organise a charity football match with to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK, our motto is more than just football.”

For more information on Tendring District Youth Football Club visit tdyfc.co.uk.