A devastating fire, believed to have been caused by a fault in a tumble dryer, has triggered an emergency fundraiser for Gloucester City Football Club after it "lost everything" in the blaze.

The incident on Sunday at the Forest of Dean home of club kit man Chris Farr led to Mr Farr's 81-year-old mother needing hospital treatment before she was eventually discharged the following day.

In addition to extensive fire damage to Mr Farr's home, thousands of pounds worth of equipment belonging to the club was also lost in the incident.

This included both home and away kits, drinks bottles and high tech performance-monitoring vests which were all stored at the property.

A scramble is now on for the club, which plays in National League North, English football's sixth tier, to rebuild its kit ahead of this Saturday's home fixture against Warrington Town. 

Patrick Chambers, the club's chairman, said on Monday: "It only happened yesterday so it's all hands to the pump to try and make sure we can replace everything."

In a statement the club, based at the Tiger Turf Stadium on Gloucester's Sudmeadow Road, added: "As a club, we have unfortunately lost everything from drinks bottles to warm up kit, as well as catapult GPS vests and all the away kit."

But an appeal to raise funds through the online giving page Go Fund Me has met with huge response, with the club's £5,000 target for meeting the losses already touching the half-way mark by early on Tuesday.

Online reaction from within the football community has also been rapid, with clubs including Swindon Town, Hungerford FC, Slimbridge and Cinderford AFCs, as well as Chippenham Town FC, sending messages of support to the club. 

And management has indicated that Dewsbury-based EV2 Sportwear, who supply kit to the club, have also stepped in to supply a set of away kits free of charge.