GENEROUS Bradford City fans raised more than £2,800 during a bucket collection for Martin House.

A team of 45 volunteers from the Martin House Hospice Care for Children and Young People collected the cash at Bradford Northern Commercials Stadium during the match against Oxford United after the charity won a public vote to become a partner charity with the club.

Although based in Boston Spa, currently a third of the children and young people supported by the hospice are from the Bradford area.

Families and staff had the opportunity to meet player Kelvin Mellor during his visit to the hospice ahead of the match.

Chris Verney, community fundraiser, said: “We had a fantastic time at Midland Road, the club and the fans were incredibly welcoming.

"We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the Bradford supporters for donating such a tremendous amount of money to Martin House, and thanks also to our team of volunteers who came along and rattled buckets around the ground.

“It costs £22,000 a day to run the hospice, so the money raised by Bradford City fans will make a real difference to the children, young people and their families who come to Martin House.”

Isabel Pitts, content and engagement manager at Bradford City, said: “It was great to work with Martin House. Once we announced them as our charity partner, City supporters were commenting and sharing their stories with the hospice and it made us realise how many Bradford lives Martin House has touched."

Visit martinhouse.org.uk.