Dad's charity gives out 2,000 free football boots a year

Luke Riggs said he is handing out about 2,000 pairs of free boots to families in need every year

A Plymouth charity which hands out free second-hand football boots has seen a rise in demand for its services.

Dad and coach Luke Riggs set up Plymouth Football Boot Bank in 2021 after noticing some children he coached were wearing boots that were in bad condition or too small.

Mr Riggs, 42, said there were now 70 collection bins at schools, sports centres and churches around the city.

He said he was handing out about 2,000 pairs of free boots every year.

The boots are given out to families struggling financially in and around Plymouth

Once boots have been dropped off in one of the collection bins, Mr Riggs empties the bins, takes the boots home and cleans them up in his spare time, redistributing them to families in need through the charity's Facebook page.

The boots are predominantly given to families in Plymouth but Mr Riggs said he had received requests from families further afield in Devon and Cornwall.

Mr Riggs, who works as a painter and decorator for a living, said football was "becoming a bit of a luxury" for a lot of people.

He said: "Because of rising prices... if you've got more than a couple of kids, sometimes people can't afford to do it with all the expensive equipment as well."

He said he had gone from giving out about 10 pairs of boots a month when he started out to handing out about 150 to 200 a month.

Mr Riggs cleans the donated football boots in his spare time

Under the same umbrella as the football boot scheme, Mr Riggs has also started a new venture called Jumpers for Goalposts - a community programme which offers free football coaching to local children.

The initiative is currently available in Ernesettle and Whitleigh on Wednesday and Friday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Mr Riggs said: "A lot of the kids who train with us maybe come from families that struggle financially and can't afford football clubs or the kids may struggle to get into a team because of behaviour difficulties.

"It's all a free service for them, keeps them out of trouble, off the Xbox, and keeps them active," he added.

Hasney Aljofree, an ex-footballer who played for Plymouth Argyle from 2002 to 2007, is an ambassador for the Plymouth Football Boot Bank charity.

He said: "What got me was, it was the genuine thought process around supporting not just his own or his friends, but everyone in the community."

Mr Aljofree played for various clubs during his career, including Plymouth Argyle and Bolton Wanderers

Mr Aljofree said his own footballing journey began when his friend's father gave him a pair of boots.

"As a parent myself, that's the last thing you'd ever want to tell your child - that you can't play because we can't afford a pair of football boots or shin pads, or a football kit," he said.

"I started out, and it's probably where the link comes, it was my best friend's father, he found a pair of boots for me... I put them on and I fell in love with playing, and without that, maybe that opportunity, maybe that might not have happened, and me having that journey, that career."

Mr Aljofree said Mr Riggs was "one of the good guys".

He added: "His empathy, his selflessness, that kind of shone for me at the start - that actually this wasn't a gimmick, this was genuine, and I think that's why I got involved from the start."