Midfield ace Emerton spent an afternoon helping volunteers at Blackburn with Darwen Churches Action deliver donations of furniture and household appliances to needy families in the surrounding area.

The group, which is based at Unity House on Chapel Street in Blackburn, recently received a cash boost of £4,000, plus the services of a Blackburn Rovers player for a day, as part of the Premier League's Creating Chances scheme.

And after Emerton's visit helped to raise awareness of the group's good work, Fred Milligan, the general manager of Blackburn with Darwen Churches Action, said donations to the charity have "gone through the roof".

"The response we've had on the back of this has been incredible," said Mr Milligan.

"Over the last few months, we've seen a sharp downturn in the amount of furniture being donated and I thought it was down to the credit crunch.

"However, since Brett's visit, which helped to raise the public's awareness of what we do, items have started flooding in again, which is fantastic.

"I had a family in the other day who had just lost their home and we were able to give them everything they needed to get set up again."

Mr Milligan said the cash the group received under the 'Places for Players' scheme would be used to partially fund the salary of an employee based at Blackburn with Darwen Council's Roman Road site, who will oversee all items brought in and then decide which are suitable for use by the charity.

"It's not just about the money, which was obviously gratefully received, it's all the publicity that has come with it too," he added.

"Thanks to Brett's visit, a lot more people out there know what we do now and that's led to more offers of support.

"Brett was a great lad and a real help to us on the day. He met the people in the joiners' shop and got to see the kind of work they do, before helping out with a few deliveries."