A FUNDRAISING campaign to pay for Darlington FC's return home has been boosted by £1,000 dropped into a collection bucket by an anonymous fan.

The wad of £20 notes was donated before the club's home win over Sutton Coldfield Town on Saturday.

It came as the club passed the half way mark on its drive to raise £100,000 through a community shares issue.

By Tuesday afternoon, 166 people had pledged £56,900 towards the redevelopment of Darlington RFC's Blackwell Meadows which the football club hopes to share from the start of next season.

The money will not taken until the offer closes and the target has been reached.

The funds raised will then be loaned by the supporters group to the football club for the development work.

The club will repay the loan and investors will be able to withdraw their shares if they wish.

Officials say the return home to Darlington will lead to larger crowds and more sponsorship opportunities, meaning the initial loan can be fully repaid over a 25-year period.

On the £1,000 donation, Wayne Raper, chair of Darlington FC Supporters Group, said: "Nothing was said - they just plonked it in and away they went."

Mr Raper said the donation highlighted the generosity of the club's fans who had embraced the idea of Darlington FC now being supporter-owned.

He added: "I man the fundraising table at Heritage Park. I've been braced for a while for a backlash after all the appeals for money, but the fans have been fantastic and their generosity has been amazing."

Mr Raper stressed that the money was not an investment rather than a donation.

As well as donations from local fans, supporters around the world are getting involved in the campaign.

The Darlington Bandera Texas fans' group, based in the US, has so far raised £1,400 towards the club's return home.

The group is run by Darlington ex-pat Chris Willesden.

The £1,000 donated by one fan on Saturday brought the total collected in buckets at the turnstiles to £1,436 on the day and more than £5,500 over the season.

For more details on the community shares issue visit fundraising.darlingtonfcsupportersgroup.org/pitches/community-share-issue