Stowupland football team starts JustGiving page to support owners of Nutshells café after devastating fire

A village football club has set up a JustGiving page to support the owners of a café destroyed in a fire over the weekend.

Despite the efforts of fire crews from across Suffolk, the premises of the Nutshells Tea Room in Stowupland were burned to the ground on Saturday.

The café was a centre of village life, and the owners, Jill and Ian Allard, have an active relationship with the Stowupland Falcons Football Club.

On Sunday, Falcons management set up a JustGiving fundraiser, with the aim of raising funds to support the Allards in their hour of need.

The organisers of the initiative state: "After the devastating fire at The Nutshells Tearoom, Stowupland Falcons would like to show their support and encourage further support from the local community.

"The Nutshells has become a prominent figure in the village after arriivng [sic] a few years ago. Jill and Ian sponsor one of our youth teams despite facing the difficulties all businesses in the hospitality industry have faced during the last couple of years.

"We would like to use this page to drum up support from within the local community after their closure this weekend."

A fundraising target of £2,000 was initially set, but this had been exceeded by Wednesday morning, with members of the public, including Stowupland residents, donating over £2,300.

Contributions can still be made via the JustGiving page itself.