Walking football and family fun day event at Hirst Welfare in Ashington raises £4,000 for chairties

The events at Hirst Welfare were organised and funded by Ashington Town Walking Football Group, Ashington Town Council, and Northumberland County Council in partnership with Northumberland Communities Together and a number of community organisations.

The fun day raised £1,700 for various local charities, while the walking football tournament it ran alongside, aiming to help people enjoy the sport and stay active at a slower pace, collected £2,400 for Mind and Dementia UK.

Ashington Town Council’s Civic Head, Cllr Victor Bridges, said: “It was a really successful and well attended day, which we were very pleased to be involved with from the start, to bring a day of sport, play, and community to Ashington.”

The town council funded some of the event’s activities, including a 42ft assault course, axe throwing, football darts, and space hopper football.

Kathie Keady, sports development manager at Northumberland County Council, said: “There were so many valuable and committed community groups who worked together to make this such a fantastic event.

“The council was pleased to play its part and also to support it financially through Get Onside funding, an exciting new activity programme from Sport England funded by the National Lottery and delivered by the Football Foundation, which is supporting residents of Ashington to become more active.

“The football festival was tremendous fun with a strong focus on inclusivity and friendship rather than competition.

“No scores were kept and every game was played in a fantastic spirit, while raising money for important causes.”