HOUSING developer Taylor Wimpey is celebrating the start of the new football season by encouraging people in West Devon to donate their unwanted football kits to KitAid, a charity that helps underprivileged children and adults in more than 30 countries across the world.

Football fans are being invited to drop off their old football shirts, shorts, boots, goalie gloves and shin pads at the housebuilder's Manor Oaks development in Tavistock, where they will be packaged up by the Taylor Wimpey team and sent on to KitAid.

Janine Davey, regional sales and marketing director for Taylor Wimpey Exeter, said: 'Whether you're an armchair footy fan or play yourself for a local team, the start of the new season often means purchasing new kit.

'We're taking this opportunity to appeal to local people to consider donating their old kit to a really worthy cause. Simply give it a wash and drop it off at Manor Oaks and we'll do the rest.'

KitAid is a registered charity which collects and sends unwanted football kit to children and adults who love football but live in some of the poorest parts of the world.

The charity, which has former England manager Graham Taylor as its patron, has sent more than 150,000 kits to children and adults worldwide.

Derrick Williams MBE, KitAid's founder, said: 'We're delighted that Taylor Wimpey is working with us to give our campaign a real boost at the start of the new football season.

'We see first hand the difference that these donations can make to young people in some of the poorest parts of the world and would like to thank the people of Tavistock in advance for getting involved.'

The team at Manor Oaks will be accepting donations until the end of October.