SAINTS star Stuart Ripley sprang into front-line action when he heard about the plight of a five-year-old Eastleigh youngster struck down with a debilitating and incurable illness.

Thanks to efforts by the flying winger and a frantic race against time by an Eastleigh man, a signed replica of Saints' brand new away shirt will be one of the star attractions at a huge charity fundraiser this Sunday.

Parents in the Boyatt Wood area of Eastleigh have banded together to launch an appeal for little Emma Whayman who suffers from the rare condition, Batten's disease, which occurs in older infants. She is now no longer able to walk or talk.

They aim to focus attention on the disease and raise enough cash to purchase essential equipment to make the rest of Emma's life as comfortable as possible.

But it looked likely that a postal mix-up would rob this Sunday's 11am to 4pm family fun day at Eastleigh's Crestwood School of first-team input from the Saints.

Thirty-nine-year-old Kevin Sharp, of Ladywood, Boyatt Wood, said: "I wrote to Saints at the end of June asking for a donation, but by last Saturday nothing had arrived.

"I decided to go down to the Dell in the morning and spoke to a club official who explained that they could not have received the letter.

"He said they were prepared to help but it would probably take about three weeks - and that would have been too late. I just didn't know what to do."

But it was while contracts manager Kevin was watching the pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad that he hatched a plan.

With only 15 minutes of the game left he decided to go down to the dug-out where he managed to talk to Stuart Ripley who was sitting on the bench.

"I showed him the appeal leaflet and asked if I could get one of the new shirts would he get the team to sign it, which he agreed to do."

But it was then Kevin's race against time really began. Large queues had already formed outside the Saints shop, with punters anxious to buy the new shirt and Kevin knew he had to be back inside the ground before the end of the game.

"I managed to talk my way to the front and when the shop opened I grabbed a shirt, paid for it and dashed back into the ground. Luckily, they were still playing injury time and I was able to get the shirt to Stuart, who duly did the business."

Now, the prized limited-edition shirt will go into a sealed bid auction at the family fun day, along with footballs signed by the Everton and Bournemouth squads.

Emma's mum Nikki, of Ladywood, Boyatt Wood, said: "I think the generosity of people has been absolutely fantastic."

But the Saints star commented: "It puts football into perspective when you hear about things like this and I was delighted to help."

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