Coventry City players donate boots to Rally for Hallie appeal

Gustavo Hamer's boots are part of an online auction which ends on Saturday

Three Coventry City players have donated signed football boots to a fundraising campaign for a toddler with a rare form of leukaemia.

Gustavo Hamer, Matty Godden and Ben Sheaf have given their boots from the team's Championship play-off final defeat to be auctioned.

"They're all such lovely lads, so it's so nice to have their backing," said organiser Becky Shortland.

The Rally for Hallie appeal aims to raise £1m for treatment for the child.

Twenty-month-old Hallie was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia known as JMML when she was eight months old and her family launched their appeal in July.

Hallie's family started the fundraiser in July to cover treatment in the US

Hallie has undergone chemotherapy, blood transfusions and two stem cell transplants.

But when her most recent transplant failed, her family started the fundraiser to cover CAR T-cell therapy in the United States as it is not funded by the NHS.

Ms Shortland works at Coventry City and has a personal connection to the family as her boyfriend is Hallie's cousin.

• Hear on BBC Sounds from Coventry Rugby FC about how they are part of the fundraising efforts for Hallie

She said the club was very supportive of the appeal and Hamer also promised to match any bid of up to £1,000 for his boots.

The players' boots still have some Wembley grass and mud on them from the play-off final in May, she added.

"The club's been really helpful to the family to get as much money and everything as possible," she told BBC Radio CWR.

"It didn't take a lot of door-knocking in terms of 'can somebody help me with this?' They were amazing."

Matty Godden and Ben Sheaf's boots were worn in the Championship play-off final defeat in May

The eBay auction ends on Saturday and also includes a signed drum skin and T-shirt from singer-songwriter Tom Grennan.

The musician is a Coventry City fan and used a gig in July to raise awareness about the appeal.

The Rally For Hallie appeal has already raised more than £700,000.