Hammers squad back nurses campaign

West Ham United today confirmed its support for the Mayday for Nurses campaign, with the first team squad pledging to donate a day's wages to a hardship fund for nurses.

Four teams from the Premiership are now signed up to the Mayday for Nurses campaign, with 120 players from the English and Scottish Premierships committed to giving their cash.

Club captain Nigel Reo-Coker said: "It wasn't really a tough decision for the rest of the West Ham lads to agree to come on board with the campaign as it is such a good cause.

"My mum is a nurse so I do understand first hand what their plight is and how bad the situation is concerning their wages which is why I was so eager to get involved with it all from day one."

The money raised by the campaign - launched by political economist and campaigner Dr Noreena Hertz - will form a hardship fund for nurses, whose plight inspired the campaign.

Dr Hertz said: "I'm really delighted to have West Ham on board. I had fantastic support from Nigel Reo-Coker when I launched the campaign - and he's now done a great job by bringing the rest of his team mates on board too.

"Nurses in this country are facing a growing crisis with student nurses unable to find jobs, while those in work struggle to make ends meet. Footballers cannot solve the nursing crisis - only the Government can do that - but they their support can make a massive difference to nurses' daily lives."