Exeter City’s Thatchers’ Big Bank has been made to look that bit louder ahead of the new season thanks to some brilliant volunteer work.
Phil Wright, a lifelong City fan who has seen over a thousand games, joined a band of around 20 volunteers in early July and started repainting the barriers following years of fading.
However, when the volunteers' weekend the job was nowhere near complete so Phil took it upon himself to come in a couple of days a week to finish the task.
“We had a party of about 10 each day who came in for the volunteers’ weekend and we did about 20 to 25 per cent of the barriers and some of the youngsters did the heart,” explained Phil.
“That made a good start on the project but then the rest needed doing so I took it upon myself to grab a brush and I came in a couple of days a week. I managed to finish all the barriers and then last week I finished off the disabled bays.
“It has taken me seven working days and about six-hours per day, but it is good fun, especially as the Test match was on and I could listen to the radio.
“You get great view of the pitch from up on the Big Bank as well and there was one day during the summer when the team were training on the pitch. However, there were balls flying about so I had to be wary that the paint didn’t go flying as well because that would have been a disaster.”
Speaking about the finished job, Phil added: “It has refreshed it so much and you can tell the difference, especially from the front where the weather has faded it more. At the back of the stand, the red paint had lasted quite well but you can see now that it will look a lot better. The intention is to have a go at the yellow steps as well but that couldn’t happen before the season started as time ran out on us.”
Exeter City thanks Phil and all the volunteers who helped out with the repainting of the stand.