Thousands raised in memory of Stoke City fan Tom, 21, killed in A34 crash

Thousands of pounds have been raised in memory of a 21-year-old driver killed in a crash. An online appeal has so far raised at least £4,000 following the death of Tom Grindey, from Trentham.

It comes as Powerleague Stoke Trentham Lakes is staging a fund-raiser in Tom's memory ahead of today's Stoke City match. Tom worked as a car park attendant at Powerleague Stoke Trentham Lakes for Stoke City home matches.

The online appeal - set up by Powerleague Stoke Trentham Lakes - states: "With great sadness we lost a son, brother, grandson, colleague and a person that touched all in this past week. With support from Tom's family we have set this page up to help the family and to pay respects to Tom. Tom was loved by all, if you knew him for three seconds or three years he was a shining light to anyone he met."

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Phil Gerry used to run the Trentham Lakes site and had known Tom since he was 12.

He said: "He was not only loved by customers but by all of the staff. He was that loved that the majority of the staff have donated their wages and a number of historical staff are donating their time, for free, in his memory this weekend

"With the support of his family we are raising money in his memory He genuinely was the loveliest person you could meet. He put a smile on all. If you knew him for 21 seconds or 21 years he was a joy. His loss is massive to his family, his friends and his colleagues. We are proud to represent him this weekend."

Tom was driving a grey BMW when he lost his life on the A34 Stone Road between the Trentham Estate and Trentham Monkey Forest roundabouts. His vehicle was in collision with a black Renault Clio at 8.30pm on Saturday 2 November.

Devastated Ben Collier is also supporting the fund-raising appeal.

He said: "Gandhi has been my best friend for years and he was like a brother to me. Nothing hurt me more than hearing the news of his passing. If I was ever having a bad day I knew he would be the one person that could always put a smile on my face. He was loved and will be missed by so many people, he would always light up any room he walked into with his big smile. We could always hear him before we saw him. I just hope everyone is doing him proud and I know that we will meet again one day. He deserves a big send-off and I hope he gets that."

Staffordshire Police are still appealing for witnesses following last weekend's crash. They particularly want to hear from car enthusiasts who were in a lay-by at around the time of the collision.

Witnesses should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 691 of 2 November.

To support the fund-raising appeal, click here.

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