Charla's Charity Match: thousands raised for former Cirencester keeper

Cirencester Town Ladies hosted Swindon Town Ladies, the two teams who Heaton played for, in a charity match at the Corinium Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Heaton, 22, died in Novemeber 2022 and the game was set-up to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish-UK charity. A total figure is not yet known but a spokesperson from the club said the amount of money raised was in the region of £1500.

Action shots from Carla's Charity Match at the Corinium Stadium (Image: Graham Hill)

Action shots from Carla's Charity Match at the Corinium Stadium (Image: Graham Hill)

Action shots from Carla's Charity Match at the Corinium Stadium (Image: Graham Hill)

Players from both teams come together to celebrate the life of Carla Heaton (Image: Graham Hill)

Despite the game being slightly one-sided in favour of Swindon Town Ladies (who ran out convincing winners) there was also a rock-n-roll bingo event afterward and various raffles. The main prize was a Swindon Town season ticket. 

There was a hot dog stand in place, as well as a cake stand and sweet jar. But the main focus of the afternoon was to raise money and also remember a popular member of the community. 

Heaton was a nursery worker and was well known for her imaginative hair and love of colour. 

Carla was well known for her love of colour and imaginative hair styles (Image: Swindon Town Women FC)

After the event, Cirencester Ladies tweeted: "We would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who attended Carlas Charity game today.

"It was amazing to see everyone coming together for a great cause. We will have a lot more thank yous to come but we want to start with Cirencester Town and Swindon Town Women."