Sandy's shock £50 find helps net goalposts

EXCLUSIVE by Helen Bushnell

Sandy Sturrock, with deputy head Sandra Bell and football coach Simon Kerr, has asked for the £50 he found in a dictionary to be donated towards buying the school football team new goalposts. Picture: Alison White

TWELVE-year-old Sandy Sturrock got more than he bargained for after opening a school dictionary - and discovering a £50 note mysteriously slipped between its pages.

But rather than pocketing the cash, honest Sandy informed his teachers at Duncan Forbes Primary in Culloden of his startling find.

They tried to find the rightful owner, but when nobody came forward to claim the cash, the young football fan - who is goalkeeper for the school team - took it upon himself to request it go towards new goals for his team.

And his kind gesture helped net yet more money, as the school then agreed to donate an additional £200 towards the £750 needed for the equipment.

Sandy, who lives in Culloden and is in primary seven, recalled: "I was doing my writing when I wanted to look up a dictionary to find out about the word biography.

"In the teacher's desk of an empty classroom I found a dictionary and I was flicking through the pages when a £50 note jumped out.

"At first I thought it was fake. I gave it to my teacher and she checked it and said it was real.

"After about two weeks of trying to find out whose it was, nobody claimed it. I wasn't sure what to do with it so my mum and dad suggested I put it to the football team."

Sandy, who has a sister Amber (5), added: "I've been playing for the team for three years. I enjoy it and felt very pleased that I could help out."

Simon Kerr, coach of the school's primary six and seven football club, told the HN he was chuffed Sandy had decided to donate the £50 to the team.

He said: "We're delighted Sandy thought about the team, and the fact he was so honest about what he had found and hadn't pocketed the cash, especially as it happened before Christmas, and then being brave enough to ask the school for the money to go towards the goalposts. He deserves recognition for what he did."

Simon, whose son Jacob is in primary four at the school, said the team is run voluntarily by parents, and relies solely on donations.

He added: "In the last two-and-a-half years, we've raised £3,000 which has kitted out all 70 members with strips. Thanks to Sandy's donation, our total for the goalposts has now reached £550."