Portsmouth FC fans rally behind 'speechless' disabled Pompey supporter to get him to Fratton Park tomorrow
A DISABLED football fan has been left speechless after dozens of generous Pompey supporters answered his plea for help in getting to Portsmouth FC’s home clash tomorrow.
On-going train strikes over the weekend meant that lifelong Blues fan Ryan Stray would have been unable to attend Pompey's home game against Bristol Rovers tomorrow with dad, Tim.
Desperate, the 26-year-old Pompey season ticket holder - who has cerebral palsy and needs a wheelchair to get around - took to social media, asking for help.
He launched a GoFundMe page to help him pay for a specially-adapted taxi to travel the 38-mile journey from his Worthing home to Fratton Park.
And Portsmouth fans from across the globe answered in their droves, donating more than £500 in a matter of hours.
Ryan, who was born in Portsmouth but now lives in Farncombe Road, said: ‘I thought I would put on Twitter to see what people were doing to get to the ground. I had no idea it was going to blow up into something like this. It amazes me. I’m just speechless.
‘I’ve been blown away by the generosity by the Portsmouth Football Club community. I wasn’t expecting it. I even had someone donate from New Zealand.’
Ryan said he’d been looking for alternative routes to travel - like the 700 bus from Worthing to Portsmouth - but said the service didn’t stop close enough to Fratton Park.
He added he tried to call train operator, Southern, to see if they could sort out alternative arrangements but said the firm was ‘very reluctant to help’.
‘Because I can’t get out of my wheelchair, any normal person can just jump in a car with a mate and just drive them down but I can’t,’ he added. ‘It makes things incredibly difficult.’
The trips to Fratton Park are a treasured opportunity for Ryan and his dad Tim Stray - a mechanic in Portsmouth - to bond.
‘We both watch the football together. I love it. I don’t tend to like to go unless it is with my dad because it’s our thing,’ added Ryan.
Ryan insisted he had no animosity towards rail staff on strike and said any left over cash from his fundraiser would be kept in a ‘rainy day’ fund in case of future industrial action.