Fund-raising appeal to replace stolen laptops reaches £20,000 thanks to Patrick Bamford and Leeds United

Leeds Tech Angels started the appeal on Thursday after 40 laptops, earmarked for deprived pupils in the city, were stolen in an overnight raid on the business unit they were being stored in.

At first the project feared for its future, as it was only launched in December, but decided to set a target of raising £10,000 in a bid to buy kit to replace what was missing via GoFundMe.

Their plight was spotted by Leeds United player Patrick Bamford, who offered to give the shirt he wore in last week's victory over Crystal Palace to a random winner picked from the people that had donated, and that prompted a flurry of support from Leeds United fans.

There was even an anonymous donation of £6,000 on the same day and over the weekend there was another for £1,500.

Ben Mckenna who leads the Tech Angels project said he had gone from being "incredibly sad" to having his faith restored in human nature.

"Thanks to the respect in which they are held, the big-hearted people of Leeds rose to the challenge. In particular, we appreciate Patrick Bamford’s wonderful gesture in literally giving his shirt for the cause. Our efforts to raise cash and source unused laptops will continue as we want to help as many young people as we can until some form of normality returns.”

Leeds Tech Angels was started in December following a second national lockdown where it became even more apparent that the digital divide was growing in the city. As children were sent home to learn, disadvantaged families that don't have access to adequate devices such as tablets or laptops - or even internet access - were struggling to home school.

It meant that some children were falling farther behind their counterparts regardless of ability but just because they didn't have tech kit.

The Leeds Tech Angels scheme seeks to take unwanted and unused or old equipment from businesses, or individuals, safely wipe them or data and re-purpose them and distribute to children that need them working in conjunction with local schools and Leeds City Council.

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