A fundraiser for the Bradley Lowery Foundation set up by a Sheffield Wednesday supporter following a fan's sick taunt mocking the death of the football-mad child has surpassed £18,500.
An image of a fan in the stands at Hillsborough holding a picture of Bradley on his phone towards Sunderland supporters, who the youngster followed in his tragically-short life, was widely circulated on social media over the weekend. It came as the Black Cats beat Wednesday 3-0 on Friday night.
Two men were later arrested over the incident and 31-year-old Dale Houghton has since pleaded guilty to a public order offence at Sheffield Magistrates Court. The judge slammed his "utterly deplorable" act and he will be sentenced on November 17.
Bradley's story captured the hearts of the nation as he struck up an adorable friendship with former Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe having been diagnosed with neuroblastoma - a rare form of cancer - aged just 18 months. Bradley died in July 2017, aged six.
Dale Houghton (L), 31, has pleaded guilty to a public order offence
Bradley struck up an adorable friendship with former Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe (Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images)Leanne Wood, an Owls fan who saw the image on social media, decided to set up a fundraising page for the Bradley Lowery Foundation, a charity formed by his family in order to help other children suffering from neuroblastoma. And having set an initial target of just £5,000, the page has surpassed £18,500 at time of publishing.
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"When I saw the images it made me feel sick to my stomach," Leanne told The Mirror. "The fact that Bradley's family had to see that is absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking. I felt like I wanted to actively do something about it. I put the idea of a fundraiser across to the members of the Sheffield Wednesday Women's Supporters Group who said they would back it all the way.
"I knew we'd get a response because being in the Wednesday community, I know the fans and the people of Sheffield in general have hearts of gold. We've now surpassed £18,000 which is just insane and shows what Wednesday fans are actually all about."
Current Wednesday stars Will Vaulks and Barry Bannan are among those to have donated, with Leanne admitting that skipper Bannan's contribution in particular "means the world". "He's the heartbeat of our club," she added.
There have been other sizeable donations too, including two of £1,000 from anonymous contributors. The foundation have announced that the money will go towards a holiday home being set up in Scarborough for children suffering with cancer to enjoy some time away with their families.
Bradley's story captured the hearts of the nation (PA)Leanne added: "The foundation has commented on some of my tweets and I don't think they've ever had anything quite like this before. I think they are grateful and overwhelmed that we have been able to turn such a horrible incident into something massively positive that will change lives.
"Bradley's story is absolutely heartbreaking but to know now that we have made a difference to other children that suffer with cancer is incredible. It will also go towards research of neuroblastoma, which needs a lot more awareness. It will change a lot of people's lives."
Leanne would now like to see Sheffield Wednesday acknowledge the fundraiser and the efforts of the fanbase to turn this horrific incident into something positive. It comes amid a challenging time for the club, who have picked up just two points from their opening nine Championship fixtures while there have been calls for the departure of both manager Xisco Munoz and owner Dejphon Chansiri.
"I would like acknowledgement from the club that the fans have managed to turn this into something amazing," Leanne said. "We need to show people that this behaviour is not acceptable at Hillsborough or anywhere else. No matter who you support, there is no place for it in football.
"We've had a lot of donations from people that support other clubs. It's an amazing feeling to know that something very ugly has been turned into something extremely positive."
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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