Swindon Town is on the hunt for a six-year-old boy after he wrote the football club a letter saying he could not attend any matches because his mother has “no money for food”.

In a post to its Twitter on Tuesday 15 February, the club said it had received a handwritten note with 26p attached from a boy named Joe.

“Mummy doesn’t have any money to come to Swindon games because she has no money for food and has to pay for my dinner at schol [sic],” the letter said.

Joe went on to say that he likes Swindon Town and that his favourite player is forward Harry McKirdy.

“I will come on day,” Joe wrote, signing his name and his age, six and a half.

He also sellotaped a 20p coin, 5p coin and 1p coin to the letter, adding: “For Harry”.

The club said it would love to get in touch with Joe, but he didn’t include a return address.

The post has received more than 10,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 3,000 times.

McKirdy has also shared the letter to his Instagram, writing in the caption: “Help us find little Joe please! We’d love to help him out and get him to some games.”

In an update this morning, Swindon Town FC said the search for Joe was still ongoing.

“We are currently still searching for Joe and his family and, once we have made contact, we will be ensuring that they get to a game in style and are well looked after by the club,” a tweet said.

The club has urged anyone who knows Joe to email information to supporters@swindontownfc.co.uk.

Separately, a member of the public named Mark Bevan has created a GoFundMe to raise money for Joe and his family.

“Swindon Town FC have been contacted by a young boy called Joe who unfortunately doesn’t have the privileges of being able to attend football matches!” the crowdfunder reads.

“This is where football comes together. Let’s all get together and fund for Joe and his family to attend a game and for Joe to be mascot for the day giving him an experience for life!”

The crowdfunder has raised more than £3,000 so far.