Last night Preston North End fans came together in support of Gary Parkinson and his illness known as “locked in syndrome”.

It has caused Gary to only be able to blink with no movement at all and cost thousands of pounds each month to care for him.

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Fans of PNE bid on eBay in order to play their dream positions again well known faces like Chris Lucketti, David Lucas and Graham Alexander. Hundreds of pounds was spent on these places and all the proceeds have been donated to the Gary Parkinson Fund.

John Porter, 17, played the position of number 10 striker, he said; “I’ve been looking forward to it all week, the fact that this is my home team is amazing, I paid £130 for the place of striker and it was worth every penny.

“My aim was to have fun and be part of such an amazing fund, hopefully we made some progress for Gary’s illness.”

Unfortunately the fans lost to the Legends team 12-3 but raised a huge amount of money in the process – a total of £6,000 was raised which is a month’s worth of treatment for Gary. Just over £3,000 of that money was raised by the fans bidding to be a part of an iconic moment.

John Macken, former PNE striker, said; “It was brilliant to be back, it was for a great cause, I think people are becoming more aware of the illness and hopefully it will raise more awareness and more money.

“We wanted to win we weren’t going to take it easy on the fans, I really enjoyed being back, I loved seeing the fans.”

The fans got DVDs of their performances and even the Deepdale Duck got involved. David Moyes also came down to see his former team play for his friend; “The main reason for the game was for Gary Parkinson and it showed what the players thought of him, he is in a difficult situation so hopefully every penny will help him.

“It was something I didn’t know about it until I was told, I’ve been to see Gary and we’re hoping and praying that he comes out of it.

“It’s costly for the care so hopefully this support will help. I hope people understand the illness but also everybody does know Gary has had this for a while, its not something that is very common.”

For anyone who wishes to donate the fund visit garyparky.co.uk