An “inspirational” schoolboy is currently walking 50-miles to Manchester United’s home ground Old Trafford.
And it’s all to raise worthy funds for foodbanks across the UK.
Within just days of embarking on his charity challenge by setting off from his hometown of Larne in Northern Ireland to Old Trafford, Ben Dickinson has already smashed his 50,000-meal fundraising target in aid of food poverty charity FareShare.
The monumental milestone – which equates to £12,500 in donations – comes just six days into his ten-day ‘Ben’s Miles for Meals’ trek, and already goes a long way to helping FareShare to tackle hunger in the most vulnerable communities by distributing food packages to charities and foodbanks up and down the country.
Ben was inspired to take on the challenge by Manchester United and England star, and food poverty relief campaigner Marcus Rashford MBE – who he calls his “hero”.
“I set myself a target of 50,000 meals for FareShare, and I can’t believe I have reached that milestone this early in my campaign,” Ben said.
“Everyone has been so generous in supporting me so far, and with four more days left until I reach my final destination of Old Trafford, I’m excited to push on and raise even more money for Marcus’ charity, FareShare.”
Target reached! Thank you! Now let’s keep going and see just how many meals we can provide. Could we reach 75,000 and feed the same as a full house at Old Trafford??? Read more about the target & 2 charity auctions here > https://t.co/UtumMtUIGrpic.twitter.com/CNdISxkfkc
Proud dad Andrew Dickinson, who has been accompanying Ben every step of the way, added: “I am immensely proud of Ben for taking on this tough challenge and setting himself such a huge target as well [and] as a family, we are so grateful for everyone who has supported him to date and helped him reach the 50,000-meal mark so quickly.
“We can’t wait to see what his final fundraising total will be.”
Although Ben’s charity trek is impressive enough as it is, that’s not all he’s doing, as after already exceeding the original target, his fundraising tally is set to increase even further with an online auction that’s offering football fans the chance to get their hands on signed memorabilia from some of the world’s best players, including George Best, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ben’s charity walk will culminate with a hero’s welcome at Old Trafford on Saturday 12 March as Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League clash.
The auction will then be hosted after the match by Hotel Football.
Ben Dickinson is currently walking 50-miles to Old Trafford / Credit: Twitter (@benjiballer5)
“We simply couldn’t do what we do without kind community fundraisers like Ben supporting us and helping raise the vital funds we need year after year,” said James Persad from FareShare UK, congratulating Ben on his achievements so far.
“50,000 meals is an incredible figure and Ben’s selfless efforts will undoubtedly change the lives of thousands of people across the UK for the better.
“We look forward to cheering him over the finishing line at Old Trafford.”
You can donate to Ben fundraiser for FareShare on his website here, and follow along on his journey via social media.
Featured Image – Supplied
Trending
British rock and mod icon Paul Weller stars in advert for new Oasis x Bohemians football kit
Danny Jones
The music and football shirt crossovers just keep coming thick and fast – and that’s just Oasis alone, as Bohemians FC have released a new collaboration with the legendary Britpop band, looping in none other than Paul Weller for the grand unveiling.
Bohemians share a strong connection with the Gallagher brothers due to their Irish roots, as do Manchester and the ‘Emerald Isle’ in general.
However, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oasis and with the Live ’25 reunion shows now just days away (we can hardly believe it either), Bohemians have decided to hop on the bandwagon too and steal some of that ‘band with the three stripes’ buzz for themselves.
Not to be too keen, but can we have 10 of them, please?…
Is this another instant hit? We’d say so, yeah.
Shot by Jamie Goldrick to the sound of cult favourite Definitely Maybe track, ‘Married with Children’, the Oasis x Bohemians kit reveal video was filmed at Cross Guns Snooker Hall: the oldest snooker club in Dublin City, which still remains an important community cornerstone.
As well as starring UK rock and mod culture icon, Paul Weller, perhaps the best bit about the FAI Cup shirt and this whole partnership is the charitable element behind it.
Just like with their Fontaines shirt, which helped supply medical aid across Palestine, the limited edition jersey will help generate crucial money for two key causes.
The first of which is the domestic non-profit organisation, Music Generation Ireland, the country’s national music education programme, which helps children and young people access vocal and instrumental tuition locally.
Secondly, funds will also be diverted to the Irish Community Care Manchester, located along Stockport Road in Levenshulme – further strengthening the mutual support between us Mancs and our cousins across the water.
You can get a close look at the Oasis x Bohemians kit design down below.
A closer look at our 2025 FAI Cup Shirt, a very special partnership with Oasis.
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) July 1, 2025
The special edition and highly exclusive shirt is already available, with stock already disappearing rapidly thanks to Bohs die-hards, Oasis fans and footy kit connosieurs alike.
With the Burnage boys getting their seismic comeback shows underway with two nights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Friday and Saturday (4-5 July), before heading for a double bill at Croke Park in Dublin this August, the excitement across the globe is already palpable.
Every single teaser trailer and social media post sends fans bananas, and god knows what the scenes are going to be like when they finally head to Heaton Park for the run of five homecoming nights.
Featured Images — Bohemians FC (press images/screenshots via YouTube)
Trending
Jason Manford has final word on ‘naughty’ rule that sparked unexpected Village Hotel experience
Danny Jones
Local comedian Jason Manford has shared “the last I’ll say on the matter between The People vs The Village Hotel”, after expressing his disappointment over a rule that saw him have a somewhat unexpected experience at one of their locations.
The Salford-born and Stockport-based stand-up was forced to share his room with another individual at The Village in Bournemouth after being told the hotel was fully booked.
Manford‘s room had essentially been resold, which led him to stay in a double with his friend and colleague; however, as explained in multiple videos, not everyone was fortunate enough to secure a last-minute solution.
Still, on the upside, at least they didn’t have to share a bed…
As detailed in the first of three posts seen above, Manford and co. arrived at the hotel late (as is typically the case with any touring comedian, especially a headliner) following his gig at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Sunday, 29 June.
The 44-year-old is currently on his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour, which saw a flurry of new dates added back in November, and got underway back in February.
Although he assured that the staff did their job and were “lovely” through the whole ordeal, he reiterated that he found the little-known rule “very naughty” and “not on”.
He also mentioned that a doctor who arrived shortly after them at the hotel reception, sadly, had to be turned away from the Bournemouth branch.
Manford went on to add that the hotel manager did apologise for the situation, but as he notes in the clips, the worry is that it could cause even bigger dilemmas if it were a wedding, someone with kids, “or a million different situations that you could have been in which are much more serious than [his].”
Essentially, the duo were just lucky they turned up when they did and said as much.
Despite noting that he’d heard of airlines opting for similar policies in the past, he confessed he’d never come across such a rule in more than “25 years of touring” as a comic.
Echoing his frustration, surprise and concern, musician Georgina Jackson said in the comments: “That is so bad! As a touring lone female musician who uses hotels a lot, what are we expected to do? But the fact is… they don’t really care…
“Thanks for highlighting it, as they might actually start caring when the bookings drop off! And, I imagine the hotel/town was busy with your audience!! How blinking ironic!!”
The hotel group has since asked the Salfordian funny man to take the very public complaints down, but Manford has refused despite them requesting quite “politely”, insisting that he believes more people need to know about obscure and largely unknown rules like these.
You can see the most recent and final statement on the whole Jason Manford-Village Hotel situation in full down below.
Emily Sergeant -
8th March 2022 
