RAY Georgeson would not normally entertain the idea of wearing the light blue of Manchester City.

Councillor Georgeson, who chairs Otley Town Council, is a lifelong Manchester United fan whose family home is Manchester. Last weekend, however, he donned the colour of his team’s arch rivals as part of a sponsored walk across the city for WasteAid UK.

For the occasion Ray, a founding trustee and Vice Chair of the charity, donned a special ‘retro’ kit that featured the red of Manchester United on one side and the blue of City on the other.

The walk - for which he was accompanied by his ten year old son John, with the pair dribbling a football the whole way - followed a winding, 15 mile route that started at Old Trafford and ended at the Etihad Stadium.

It has already brought in £1,200 which will support projects to decrease plastic pollution in developing countries.

Ray said: “This year’s walk started at Old Trafford and ended at the Etihad. Naturally, I had to do it! In the spirit of remembering good times past I did the walk in a 1960s retro football kit, specially made in United Red and City Blue to symbolise the walk. John joined me on the walk, did most of the dribbling and also raised £60 off his own bat.

“The shirt was specially made for me by Jo Palmer of Sew Very Historical in Otley, and Jo very kindly donated her time and skill as a contribution to WasteAid UK. Huge thanks to her for her contribution: it really made me feel like Denis Law.

“As you can imagine, the Red/Blue shirt raised some eyebrows in Manchester city centre, and especially at both stadiums, but it was all for a great cause and passersby were very responsive.”

The 2019 #WalkForWasteAid coincided with a UK Government initiative called UK Aid Match, which doubles all donations to development projects during June and July. Ray is hoping to add to his total while the match funding is in operation.

He added: “Forty people completed the walk and I am delighted to say that the £1,200 I have raised so far will be doubled and contribute to a Plastics Recycling Training Centre in Douala, Cameroon, where plastic waste is flowing into the Atlantic Ocean directly from the Cameroon River.”

Ray can still be sponsored at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ray-georgeson .