Friends of Scotland captain Andy Robertson have shown their support for his charity by raising £5,000 through a sponsored walk round East Renfrewshire.

The seven pals have all known the Liverpool star since their days together at St Ninian’s High School, in Giffnock, and have kept in touch over the years.

They teamed up to take part in a 20-mile walk for his AR26 charity, which takes its name from his initials and the number he wears on his shirt for the English Premier League club.

An eighth friend, Stuart Pittman, covered the same distance in London, where he lives, after he was unable to make it back to East Renfrewshire.

Walk organiser Declan McCall has known Andy since they started at St Joseph’s Primary, in Clarkston, more than 20 years ago.

The Champions League winner supplied Declan, Andrew Reid, Martin Coughlin, Liam Brown, Callum Forsyth, Jamie Weldon and Steven Benhams with AR26 t-shirts to wear during the walk, which took around six hours.

“We’ve all kept in touch with Andy over the years but, unfortunately, haven’t been able to see much of each other due to lockdown restrictions,” said Declan, who is a quantity surveyor.

“However, we’re hoping to meet up with Andy in Liverpool in two weeks’ time. It’ll be the first time we have seen each other since August.

“All of Andy’s friends were happy to support his charity and it is typical of him that he should think of those less fortunate.”

The Tom Hunter Foundation has pledged to add 50% to the money raised for AR26 through the sponsored walk, which could bring the final total to around £7,500.

Andy and his partner Rachel Roberts launched AR26 last year to help underprivileged and disadvantaged children across Scotland.

In particular, it gives youngsters access to free football training and job opportunities.

AR26 also supports good causes in East Renfrewshire, such as the Back to SchoolBank, which provides pupils with free school uniforms.

In the past, Andy has made donations to the East Renfrewshire Foodbank, based in Barrhead.

Anyone who would like to support AR26 can make a donation at www.ae26.org.uk.