Football officer gives injury the red card to raise cash for good causes

One of our officers swapped his uniform for running gear to raise much-needed funds for good causes.

Football engagement and inclusion officer, PC Rich Lymer, battled injury to step out on his rest days for the Tissington Trail Half Marathon, raising an impressive £800 through cash and online donations.

PC Lymer has trained hard, putting in the miles and pushing himself to the limit to prepare for the 13-mile challenge, which took place in the Derbyshire countryside on Sunday 24 September.

Weather conditions were challenging to say the least, with fog making visibility difficult, but the 42-year-old overcame a painful training injury from earlier in the year to cross the finish line in 50th place out of 314 runners.

The cash will be shared equally between Burton Albion Community Trust and Burton and District Mind.

PC Lymer, who became the force’s dedicated Football Hate Crime Officer in July last year, said: “I wanted to raise the profile of my new role and funds to support mental health services in the Burton area following the sad loss of a colleague, Anthony ‘Ingers’ Ingham.

“I also wanted to support the Burton Albion Community Trust in their mission to deliver much needed community projects and schemes in the area.

"I ended up with a tear in my right calf last year, which really hampered my training and fundraising, so to be able to come back from injury and help out two such good causes feels absolutely amazing.”

As part of his role, PC Lymer monitors crimes at games around Staffordshire and online, working with clubs including Stoke City, Port Vale, Burton Albion, Hednesford Town, Stafford Rangers, Tamworth FC and 23 other smaller non-league clubs around Staffordshire.

Keri Lawrence, Development and Sustainability Officer, Burton and District Mind, said: “The pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the challenges we are faced with every day. Even more people are experiencing higher levels of mental health problems than ever before.

“Burton and District Mind, the local mental health charity for East Staffs, Lichfield and Tamworth, are now seeing more than 3,000 people a year to support the recovery of mental health problems through advice and guidance, counselling, one-to-one work, crisis services, self-help groups and activity projects.

“We are extremely grateful for PC Rich Lymer for his dedication and success with fundraising for us with the Tissington Trail Half Marathon.

"We congratulate Richard on getting a place in the top 50 – which is a fantastic achievement in itself. We know about the personal journey he has gone through in order to raise the incredible amount, which makes this donation even special to us.

“Community fundraising allows us to develop and sustain projects, funding activities that the community needs. It drives our volunteer programme and allows us to develop new ideas and initiatives.”

For more information on hate crime and how to report it, visit: What is hate crime? | Staffordshire Police

Visit Burton and District Mind’s website at: Fundraising | Burton and District Mind (burtonmind.co.uk)