A business owner has thanked the celebrity owners of Wrexham AFC, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, for donating thousands of pounds after his shop was burgled. Stephen Tapp, who is the owner of Wrexham Trainer Revival, was left overwhelmed when he found out the pair donated £3,500 after the sportswear shop in the city was burgled at the end of October, reports BBC News Wales.
The shop owner now wants to thank the Hollywood celebrities for saving his business. Upon hearing about their donation Mr Tapp said: "It was overwhelming – I literally had to be picked up off the floor.
"One of the biggest actors in Hollywood donating money to my little shop, it's ridiculous. We were about to wrap up the online donations page then they doubled the amount I'd already received – taking it to £7,000."
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Mr Tapp had just celebrated the one month anniversary of his shop's new location when he discovered the break-in on October 28. Speaking to the BBC the business owner explained how he was "close to packing up" following the incident. He also added that the donation page was launched by an American couple.
He said: "After spending so much time talking to the police my head wasn't in a very good place. I was very close to packing up and selling it all on eBay. The support I've had from everyone has been amazing." He added: "The donations page was set up by an American couple I've only met once. That money has covered all of my costs and kept the business going. By Sunday teatime, with the amount of messages I received on social media, there was no way I could give up."
The business owner also explained that his son had met Rob McElhenney following Wrexham's win against Gillingham on Saturday. According to Mr Tapp during the meeting the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor knew him and called him "the trainer guy". In response Mr Tapp said: "I didn't realise they even knew I existed so this has blown my mind. They're welcome to the shop anytime. There'll be a couple of free T-shirts there for them that's for sure."
It comes as the third series of Welcome to Wrexham has been officially confirmed. The announcement was made ahead of the series two finale, which is expected to drop on Hulu and Disney+ in the UK on Wednesday and will see the football club face "either promotion or the dreaded playoff". You can read more about the third season of the hit programme here.
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