FORMER Bolton Wanderers players joined in a special charity match at the Macron Stadium to raise money for two victims of the Manchester Arena terror attacks.

David Lee and Tony Kelly both laced up their boots to compete alongside Whites staff against a team of employees from Yorkshire Bank.

The game, held on May 9, aimed to raise money for Martin Hibbert and his daughter, from Bolton, who both suffered serious injuries in the explosion on May 22, 2017.

Lee Kibble, private development manager for the bank, is a close friend of Mr Hibbert and spoke of his pride at being able to support the family.

He said: “The event, as always, was fantastic and everybody really enjoyed the day.

“Being able to raise a significant sum towards our fundraising pot was the icing on the cake and I would just like thank all our guests for their kind donations and everyone involved at Yorkshire Bank and Bolton Wanderers for making the day such a success.”

Mr Hibbert and his daughter were just ten metres away from the bomb when it detonated causing him to suffer 22 shrapnel wounds from the nuts and bolts which were discharged by the explosion.

At first, doctors did not think he was going to survive, and he needed 16 pints of blood before he reached the intensive care unit and has had several long operations to remove the shrapnel.

The bolt that caused the most damage lodged in his spine and has left him with a T10 spinal injury which means he is now paralysed from the waist down.

He was in the trauma unit at Salford Royal until the end of June and was then in a spinal rehab centre in Southport until the end of September.

The football match, which raised £550 for the family, was just part of the fundraising push that the bank is involved in.

Mr Kibble and other staff at Yorkshire Bank helped to contribute towards a total of £22,000 raised including sponsorship to run on Sunday in the Great Manchester Run 10k run which marked almost 12 months since the attack took place.

The bank holds the charity football match every year for a different cause, but organisers decided to use it this year to add to the group’s fundraising efforts.

To donate to this cause visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/martin-and-eve-hibbert.