Dutch football fans throw cuddly toys to sick children at Feyenoord match

When Dutch football team Feyenoord invited patients from Rotterdam's Sophia Children's Hospital and their families to their Eredivisie match against Excelsior on Sunday they got even more than they bargained for.

The visiting Excelsior supporters heard of the gesture from their rivals, so decided to try and make the children's day extra special by bringing a collection of soft toys to give to the youngsters.

Toys can be seen on the pitch behind the Excelsior manager. Credit: PA

After finding out that the children were sat a tier below them at the De Kuip stadium, the supporters rained toys upon them from a height, leaving the area around the pitch covered in everything from aardvarks to zebras.

It is not the first time such a goodwill gesture has been made, as ADO Den Haag fans did similar two years ago when Feyenoord invited children to a match.

Toys rain down from the second tier.

On this occasion there was an extra treat for the young fans as their Feyenoord heroes won the game 3-0 thanks to goals from Robin van Persie, Jeremiah St Juste and Jan-Arie van der Heijden.

Fans throw toys to the children below. Credit: PA