King's Lynn Town FC staff visit Tapping House hospice in Hillington

Management and staff from King's Lynn Town Football Club paid a visit to Tapping House to see how the hospice supports terminally ill patients in the West Norfolk community.

Manager Tommy Widdrington, assistant boss Hugo Langton and head coach Mark Hughes visited the premises after Steve Plunkett, from East Bilney, and Ben Pascoe, from Necton, completed the London Marathon.

The pair expected to raise almost £9,600 for the hospice once all the money has been collected.

As part of their fundraising efforts, they auctioned a signed Linnets first team shirt in an auction.

They also donated a first team-signed Tapping House fund raiser T-shirt back to community and corporate fundraising manager Lindsey Atkin for them to display on the wall at the Hospice.

Linnets boss Widdrington said: “I’d like to thank Lindsey for being so welcoming to Hugo, Mark, and myself during our visit to Tapping House.

"We were all blown away by the facility and the passion shown by the people working and volunteering there.

"Steve and Ben also deserve a massive pat on the back for their ongoing fund-raising ventures in support of such a fantastic cause.

"It was a real eye opener to hear about the history of the site and how it all came to be.

"The excellent work, care, help, and advice from Lindsey and the team continue to provide really is to be applauded and, as we said, if we can help in any way at all going forward, I would make sure we would.

"I certainly learned a lot about what the charity does - so much more than I had initially realised."

Mrs Atkin said: "We have been blown away by the success of the Hospice’s London Marathon Team this year.

"In total we have raised over £22,000 – Ben and Steve have worked so hard to not only fundraise but also to raise awareness of the charity and the work that we do.

"We were delighted to welcome the team from King's Lynn Town Football Club to the hospice and for the opportunity to develop the relationship between the hospice and the football team.

Mr Pascoe said: “When we first talked about running the London Marathon back in 2019, I knew that I wanted to run it for Tapping House.

"I felt quite strongly about that after the help that they gave to my grandma and Steve was more than happy to do the same, which was great.

"I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone that has very kindly donated to our fundraising."

Mr Plunkett - the matchday announcer at the Linnets - added: "I have been blown away by the support that we have had from the club and also from Tommy, Hugo, and Mark in taking the time out of their busy schedule to come and meet the three of us and find out more about the hospice and its valuable work."

Mr Plunkett completed the 26.2 miles in five hours eight minutes while Mr Pascoe clocked a time of three hours 51 minutes.

The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House is a charity based in West Norfolk providing care and support to those living with, or affected by life limiting illness.

Donations and fundraising initiatives such as this one help to raise vital funds enabling them to carry on caring, and carry on helping.