AN auction has raised thousands of pounds for a footballer partly paralysed in an attack outside a nightclub.

More than 800 people attended the event, organised by friends and relatives of Billericay Town goalkeeper Nicky Morgan, 25.

Mr Morgan suffered serious spinal injuries trying to break up a fight outside the Sugar Hut nightclub, in Brentwood, in the early hours of Friday, October 28.

The 6ft 8ins player’s family are trying to raise £100,000 to help fund his treatment and buy rehabilitation equipment.

Friday night’s event, at O’Grady’s Irish Bar in Ilford, is believed to have raised more than £20,000, although the final total has yet to be worked out.

Mr Morgan’s brother, Ben, 36, from Chelmsford, said: “It was amazing. We were overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up and the contributions they made.

“We think we’ve raised a substantial amount from the auction, ticket sales, a raffle and taking a bucket round.

“Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Huddlestone came along, which was brilliant – and he donated a pair of signed boots.”

Other lots in the auction, included a signed David Beckham football shirt, which sold for £1,200, a Spanish villa holiday, which raised £1,600 and signed Celtic and Republic of Ireland football shirts which went for £1,000 apiece.

However, the auction’s main attraction, a Fender Stratocaster guitar, donated and signed by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, failed to reach its reserve price and will be offered again at a future date.

No one has been arrested in connection with the incident in which Mr Morgan was injured and his family have voiced frustration at the lack of progress.

Police have yet to release CCTV images of suspects or collect statements from all the witnesses.

Ben Morgan, who is writing an online blog on his brother’s behalf, said Nicky was upset because his case didn’t seem to be “anyone’s priority”.

His hopes of being picked for a rehabilitation programme were dashed when experts from spinal injury centres failed to meet his consultant to discuss his injuries.

His brother’s blog goes on: “We’re back to square one now, because we were hoping he might get offered a place at Stanmore, or Stoke Mandeville spinal injury centres. We’d built our hopes up and now we have no timeline, as it takes an average of 18 weeks to get a bed on a rehabilitation programme and we’re less than six weeks in.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “The investigation in this case is continuing. It is a complex investigation, involving a number of inquiries.

“The victim's family are being kept updated with our progress and CCTV footage is currently being examined as part of the investigation.”