A fundraising appeal has been launched to build a statue of Swindon Town's record appearance holder John Trollope MBE.

It was announced on Wednesday that the club legend, 81, was in hospital.

The fundraiser has been launched by the club's Community Foundation, who are aiming to raise £100,000 to build the statue at Foundation Park.

Shane Hewlett, Head of the Foundation, said: "As a Swindon Town legend, John has played a significant role in the history of Swindon Town FC, over a huge period of time, and he has shown such commitment to supporting the Community Foundation for many years.

"It will be great have the statues of Don [Rogers] and John located on either side of the County Ground stadium and allow supporters to see both club heroes when they approach the ground.

"We can't wait to get moving with this fundraising campaign and we would like to encourage all Swindon Town supporters to get behind this project."

Trollope was a member of the historic 1969 League Cup-winning side and accompanied former teammates Don Rogers and Joe Butler in unveiling a statue of Rogers outside the Nigel Eady County Ground in November.

He made 889 appearances in all competitions for the club between 1960 and 1981, before going on to serve the club as manager, assistant manager, youth team coach and club ambassador.

A stand at the County Ground was renamed "The Arkell's John Trollope Stand" in 2021 in honour of Trollope's incredible service to the club.

The fundraising campaign is being in run in collaboration with Swindon Town as well as supporters groups TrustSTFC, Official Supporters Club and the STFC Business Group.

The Community Foundation will be commissioning Alan Herriott, the sculptor behind the statue of Don Rogers, to build the statue with the hope of unveiling it at the start of the new season in August.

John Trollope himself stated of the project: "It would be an honour to have a statue at Foundation Park and it's been a privilege to support the Community Foundation as an ambassador.

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"I have seen first-hand the fantastic work the Foundation deliver and their tremendous community facility that is thriving on the County Ground site."

You can donate to the project by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/john-trollope-mbe-statue.

Swindon Town have issued their support for the fundraising appeal and wished Trollope well on social media on Wednesday.

The club said: "Sending our best wishes to one of our own, John Trollope, who is currently in hospital.

"Wishing him a speedy recovery."

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