Football fan gets 'shirty' - for a fantastic fundraising cause

Nicola Hutton (43) has worked at The Brentwood Hotel/Flamin Grill pub on Moorgate Road in Rotherham for the last two years, and is currently a housekeeper for the hotel and waitress in the pub restaurant.

She said: “Personal circumstances and the fact that cancer touches so many people's lives in one way or another meant that I endured a tough time in recent months.

“I lost a close friend to cancer and then, two weeks later, another close friend started a preventive chemotherapy journey after breast cancer surgery.

“Where I work is a Greene King national hospitality pub retailer whose chosen charity is MacMillan Cancer Support and they often host coffee mornings and fundraising events.

“My employers and work colleagues knew I had been affected by my friends cancer diagnoses and they encouraged me to turn a negative into a positive and go and put myself out there.

“So, with their help, I pushed myself into fundraising.

“I am a massive Sheffield Wednesday fan so I challenged myself to work an eight-hour shift wearing a Rotherham United football shirt with a collection bucket, then the following week I did the same wearing a Sheffield United – it nearly broke me!

“But during those two days we raised £500.

“We then did a ‘book and bake sale’ which raised another £200.

“I set myself a target of reaching £1,000 by Christmas and we currently stand at £722.

“For the final event me and some colleagues are doing a sponsored walk in fancy dress on Friday, November 15.”

Nicola will be joined by colleagues general manager Allison Sissons, kitchen manager Mark Mitchell, and team leaders Morgan Weston and Chloe Smith, all setting off from the Brentwood at 10am.

She added: “We will be heading towards Rotherham United at New York Stadium, then walking to Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground before reaching our final destination of Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday's ground – where my heart is!

“And this time I will be in seventies fancy dress!”