Hats off to those charitable Bantams

For a trio of Bantam supporters are offering fashionable blue and white headgear to Latics loyals at both a discount and with the offer of helping a cause close to their heart.

Turnstylewear makes high-end flat caps, trapper hats and scarves which have proved particularly popular with football supporters.

They were initially designed in the claret and amber colours of City with 20 per cent of proceeds donated to the Bradford Burns Unit (now called the Plastic Surgery and Burns Rehabilitation Unit).

Co-directors Gavin Dimmock and Jeremy and Liz White are all life-long Bradford fans and were at Valley Parade in 1985 when a fire caused by a dropped cigarette tore through a stand, killing 56 supporters and injuring 265 others.

For the 25th anniversary of the tragedy the firm raised £5,000 by selling match badges and for last year’s commemorations, after hearing that flat caps were back in fashion, they decided to go into hats instead and raised more than £20,000 for the same cause by donating a percentage of the profits.

But fear not: Latics fans aren’t being asked to buy claret and gold headwear, because TSW also has them in blue and white.

And after chatting with the Wigan Evening Post, they say they will give 20 per cent of sale profits to Wigan fans to Joseph’s Goal, the charity set up after our football writer Paul Kendrick’s son was diagnosed with the rare and incurable and life-limiting disorder non-ketotic hyperglycinemia. TSW will also give a 20 per cent discount to Latics fans.

By pure coincidence Jeremy’s own daughter, who is now 29, had another form of glycinemia as a child from which she was able to recover from.

Other charitable beneficiaries of the hat and cap scheme include the Wetherby-based Martin House children’s hospice which has benefited from TSW Leeds United socks.

The firm is also doing claret and blue hats for Aston Villa with a donation going to the Acorns Hospice in Birmingham.

Jeremy, a former air traffic controller, said: “It started with badges, and then a germ of an idea about hats and has turned into quite a business operation with a strong charitable angle.

“We would be delighted if any Wigan Athletic fans - or anyone else in the area for that matter - bought our trapper hats or caps, safe in the knowledge that 20 per cent of profits will go to Joseph’s Goal, which is clearly the worthiest of causes.”

The company tends to deal directly with fans via Twitter feeds and fan websites and can be contacted at turnstylewear.com then then click on the CAPS, TRAPPERS and SCARVES links.

Fans need to enter the code JOSEPH20 at the checkout stage to get the discount.