Rangers fans have raised £3500 for a charity collector abused by supporters of the Ibrox club.

John Burkill, who pledged to raise £1m for cancer research after the death of his wife, was sworn at and robbed on Sunday.

The 78-year-old was accosted outside Hillsborough Stadium before Sheffield Wednesday's game with Rangers, reportedly because he was wearing green.

He was sworn at before fans stole his wig and items from the pram he pushes around.

Rangers FC's Club 1872 supporters' group has apologised to Mr Burkill and fans have raised £3500 for him.

"We were surprised and disappointed because all the other reports we had heard from the day were really positive," said Laura Fox, one of the directors of 1872.

"We hope to atone for an unfortunate and inappropriate incident to show John that the majority of the Rangers support don't represent themselves or the club in that way and we're supportive of his fundraising.

"We've spoken to the club about getting John up to Ibrox and to make him feel welcome, encourage him to do some fundraising and to present him with a cheque for the money we've raised."

Mr Burkill was targeted outside the stadium at 2pm on Sunday as thousands of Rangers supporters made their way to the game ahead of their 2-0 win.

Known locally as the "mad man with the pram", Mr Burkhill said he would not let the incident stop him.

"I stand outside Hillsborough on every single match day and I won't let this stop me," he said.

"It was not good at the time and I learned some swear words I had never heard before - and all because I was wearing green like Celtic do.

"I took a lot of abuse but I stood my ground and didn't let them stop me doing what I was there to do - to raise money for Macmillan - because it is too important to me."

He added: "The Wednesday fans who know me saw all this happen and were upset because 95% of them probably know me.

"It could have caused some real bother but it wasn't all the Rangers fans so thankfully nothing else happened."

Rob Turner from Macmillan Cancer Support said he was "shocked" by the attack.