Stars give their backing to Feethams campaign

The Save Feethams campaign, led by two Darlington Football Club fans, aims to save the 100-year-old Twin Towers, the gateway to the Feethams site.

Campaigners Shaun Campbell and Doug Embleton claim the Feethams site is of historical importance to football as the place where Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer, made his name in the game.

Work on a major housing development on the Feethams site is set to start shortly.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Gordon Taylor, president of the Professional Footballers Association, have shown their support for the campaign, along with Fabrice Muamba and Lomana Lua Lua by signing Save Feethams T-shirts.

Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, footballer-turned pundit Stan Collymore and Rachel Yankey, star of the England and Arsenal Ladies teams have also put their name to the cause.

Mr Campbell said he wanted to make the footballing world understand the importance of Feethams in historic terms.

He said: “We need as many people as possible to hear about Feethams and the T-shirts are a way of doing that. Feethams is an extremely important historic site but it’s also important for world football as the place where Arthur Wharton made his name.

“I need to make it important to footballers – how many people are aware of Feethams and what it represents? It’s about time that football players realise what an important site that it is in terms of their own careers.”

Mr Campbell said he had been inundated with messages from fans since the Save Feethams campaign was featured in The Northern Echo last week.

A planning condition of the proposed 146 house development at the Feethams site means the twin towers cannot be demolished and Mr Campbell said praise should go to Darlington Borough Council for “understanding the importance of those towers”.

He added: “Feethams is a piece of Darlington’s heritage and that has to be worth supporting.”