EVENING Advertiser readers have responded to Swindon Town's appeal for equipment with gusto.

Just 24 hours after the club issued a wish list of items, ranging from paint and trestle tables to ink cartridges and printers, goods have started turning up at the County Ground.

Funds were so tight that ground staff were forced to use a domestic lawnmower to tend the hallowed turf until Derek Belcher, managing director of Handy Garden Machinery in Hyde Road, loaned an industrial mower.

Mr Belcher, 54, said: "I couldn't let the club go on like that. That's why we will keep them in grass cutting equipment until further notice.

"People have had the good times and it is time we all pulled together to help out during a tough time for the club."

Football magazine Four Four Two has promised the club new nets, worth £300, within a week, while Arval PHH has donated IT equipment.

Loyal fans Gareth and Cherry Jones have given an ink-jet printer and telephones, and Neil Buckley of the Kings Royal Hussars (Wiltshire Tank Regiment) handed over IT equipment.

Office stationery, including Post-it notes, pens, pencils and writing material has also arrived.

Four Four Two's assistant manager and Swindon Town fan, Mark Hanrahan, 26, said: "I've followed Town since 1986 and, believe me, I have suffered all the emotions.

"To me this is what following a football club is all about I certainly couldn't let another club face ruin and am glad the magazine has decided to back the club's appeal."

The club's precarious financial position means the County Ground has not had a lick of paint in nine years.

It was saved from almost certain liquidation in April after the High Court agreed to allow an unprecedented second period of administration. The recent collapse of ITV Digital and the promise of TV money has also hit the club.

Chief executive Mark Devlin said: "Some people I spoke to recently said the club had lost its community backing. This appeal has shown that nothing can be further from the truth.

"We have been amazed by the generosity of the community. Yesterday a small package arrived containing two pens, a pencil, a pad of Post-it notes and a rubber band from an anonymous sender.

"That exemplifies the kind of community spirit we are talking about."