A Biddulph boy is selflessly auctioning off his signed football shirt to raise money for a local charity.

Flynn Smallwood, who is a pupil at Oxhey First School, is raffling off his Port Vale shirt, which is signed by Vale forward Tom Pope.

The money raised will be going to local charity More Than A Face, which was set up by Biddulph mum Charlie Beswick.

Charlie's son, Harry, was born with a rare cranio-facial condition called Goldenhar syndrome, and the charity works with schools and community groups to educate and raise awareness of facial disfigurement.

Flynn was given a free Stoke City shirt in November as part of the club's City7s initiative and his first reaction was to ask his mum if he could "give it to someone who didn't have one."

However as the City7s initiative runs across Stoke on Trent, it means that most kids his size were already going to have been given a shirt of their own.

Flynn's mum, Louise Smallwood, said: "That's when we got lucky. One of the parents of a fellow team mate at Flynn's football team - Biddulph Predators FC - got involved. Port Vale season ticket holder, Rob Menzies, was aware of the Port Vale Foundations' work in the community and suggested that this was something that they would be keen to support.

"A quick phone call later he managed to secure a swap to a signed Port Vale Shirt instead. We're so grateful for Port Vale's support.

"We formulated a plan and decided that a raffle would be the best way to raise funds. More Than a Face was an obvious charity to support as his football team have chosen it as their charity too."

Flynn plays in goal for Biddulph Predators FC Under 7s team. 'More Than a Face' features on all home kits for the teams across all age groups and Chairman Richard Warburton explains why: "We don't just want to teach our kids to be good footballers, but also to be good human beings too. More Than a Face is such an important charity and we as a club want to help share their message and promote inclusivity in our club and the community."

"Flynn deciding to use this opportunity to raise money for charity really is testament to the great kids we have on our teams," he added.

Discussing her charity, Charlie said: "I want to change attitudes and behaviour when it comes to facial conditions and show young people that they have the power to see each other for who they are and not just what they look like.

"Although there are many kind people out there we have had others whisper, stare, point and laugh at Harry and online people have said some truly awful thing. It is important that kids are taught young and learn about the reasons for facial differences so that they can better understand and become more accepting and inclusive individuals."

If you'd like to get your hands on the shirt signed by Tom Pope you can enter the raffle by clicking here.

Each entry costs £1 and 100% of the money raised will go to More Than a Face. The shirt is sized Kids' XS.

The competition closes at 2pm on 31st January 2021.

You can find out more about More Than a Face by clicking here.