Over £10,000 raised for family of amateur footballer, 20, who died after 'bacterial infection'

A fundraising page set up in memory of a young amateur footballer from Northampton has doubled its fundraising target, after he died from a sudden "bacterial infection."

Luke Abrahams, from East Hunsbury, died on Monday (January 23) despite having his leg amputated in an effort to save him.

It is believed the bacterial infection was originally caused by a scratch and then it ate away at his body over time.

He has been described by friends as "happy go lucky" and "fun-loving."

His fellow football players at Hunsbury Hawks in Northampton played a match in his memory on Sunday (29 January).

A minute's silence was also held before the game.

In tribute to Luke, the club said: "It’s been a hard week for us all. The loss of our Luke has shattered the hearts of so many."

The GoFundMe page set up after his death has doubled its £5,000 goal, raising £10,500 as of Sunday (January 29). The aim is to give Luke "the send off he deserves."The fundraising was started by Jamie Podkowka, 34, who coaches Luke's brother's junior football team alongside him.Jamie is the manager of ON Chenecks Under 16s where Luke's brother Jake plays. Jamie said: "There are literally no words. He is not far off the age of the kids that we coach so I think it hit a lot of people pretty hard."It hit us hard here because we've just had a newborn. You have that feeling as a parent and wondering what Richard and Julie were going through."

Luke was a big West Ham fan, so his friends are now trying to organise a tribute with the club ahead of their next home game.

On the donations, Jamie said "no amount of money" will bring Luke back, but the support is "overwhelming."Jamie said: "I never expected it to explode the way they did. I knew he was a really really well liked lad but it's gained so much support which is overwhelming really."I know charity games are being set up as we speak as he's played for a few teams. His parents would really like to highlight what happened and how quick it was.""It is to allow them to give him the send-off that he would have deserved or that he would have wanted. That would be massive for the family."I want to say just a massive thanks to all the businesses and everybody that got involved. I know it's appreciated and Luke would have been so overwhelmed and just elated."