SWINDON Town fans have come to the aid of their club to help ensure that Harry Toffolo remains at the County Ground until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old defender has been a revelation since his arrival at the club, both on and off the pitch, and is quickly becoming a fans’ favourite.

The Norwich loanee recently extended his loan deal from the Championship club until the end of the season and is hoping to have a helping hand in returning Swindon to the second tier of football, thanks to a £12,000 donation put together by a collective including the Trust and Swindon Town Supporters’ Club.

“After the club had supported our Family Day against Fleetwood, we wanted to give something back and this seemed the ideal way really,” said Supporters’ Trust chairman Steve Mytton.

“We’re delighted that Harry has signed until the end of the season, he’s a great talent and we look forward to seeing him continue the excellent form he’s showed so far.

“We want to bring the club and the community closer together, because we all love the football club, and using a bit of spare cash to fund players is a good thing.”

Roger Bunce, from the Swindon Town Supporters’ Club, and both Mytton and Mike Welsh, from the TrustSTFC, were present at the County Ground to handover a cheque to the club.

The money has come from the Red Army Fund, which was launched in 2003 exclusively for player loan purposes and currently has an underlying agreement signed by several parties, representing Swindon Town, TrustSTFC and the Swindon Town Supporters’ Club.

In February 2005, Michael Proctor became the first player to be financed through the fund and scored the winner on his Town debut.

Four years later, in March 2009, the fund was used again to pay for the loan of Gordon Greer, who went on to sign permanently and become club captain.

Since then supporters have continued to contribute, and the Fund has now been used again to help secure the services of Toffolo.

Just after Christmas, Toffolo expressed a desire to do more in the community and it was that moment that Mytton knew they had supported the right player.

“He’s a brilliant example to all of his fellow professionals,” added the Trust chairman. When he put a call out over the Christmas period asking how he could help the community I knew we had the right person.

“I’ve found him to be incredibly mature for his age, he understands the privileged position that footballers hold, and wants to give back.

“He’s the perfect fit for TrustSTFC, which is why we’ve also sponsored his kit for the remainder of the season and I hope we’ll be able to do more with him in the future.”

The original agreement between the various groups will now be closed, however, the Red Army Fund will continue to be used.

“The agreement is well out of date and had certain restrictions that prevented us using it for wider causes,” said Mytton.

“It will be re-launched in the near future as a fund that we can use towards many different Trust initiatives.”