On the 7th June while Northern Thunder, the Percy Hedley Foundations Powerchair Football team, were celebrating winning the 2013-2014 National Premier League with 22 wins out of 22 their van filled with specialist sporting equipment was stolen from outside of the hotel.

The equipment on this van included specialist sports chairs specifically adapted to the needs of the individual players as well as all of the equipment required to support the team of severely disabled people.

This loss is a blow not only to the players who are currently unable to take part in their chosen sport but also to the wider community as the Sports Academy is currently unable to deliver sessions to disabled people across the North East.

Please see this link for media coverage relating to this issue:

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/percy-hedleys-disabled-footballers-specialist-7238193

Whilst we are continuing down the route of recovering funds for this equipment we also know that we will not recover the full replacement cost of all this and temporary measures are being put in place to deliver our very important work which obviously has a cost.

The public and the media support has been amazing concerning this event and we have received a number of requests as to where people can make donations to.

We have set up this page so that people can make donations towards the recovery of our van and equipment and also so that people are able to contribute to the on-going work of the Sports Academy and our newly launched Splash Appeal, bringing new facilities to the North East that will further support our work.

Any donations are very graciously received and will all be spent on providing a better sporting life for disabled people.