A DARWEN football club has donated 100kg of spare kit to help youngsters in Africa.

Mark Atkinson, founder and honorary president of Darwen Spartans JFC, decided to donate the shirts, shorts, training wear and raincoats to children in Africa, after his under-18s squad disbanded.

He said: “If we waited until the junior teams were old enough to fit into the kits, they’d probably have been moth-eaten by then, so we were desperate to give it to a group of people who would appreciate it.

“I’m really glad to see the children’s smiling faces in pictures and videos. But a big thank you has to go to the players, people and businesses of Darwen who have supported us, and enabled us to make this donation.”

The kit was taken out to Gambia by Ian Wiggins who works for Blackburn Rovers and carries out regular charity work in the country regularly.