A FOOTBALL flag at the centre of Scotland’s most elaborate lost property reunion was chauffeured by two air hostesses and flown 6,000 miles across the Atlantic.
The Arbroath FC flag, which was bought for £250 in 1982, has been to countless matches and travelled all over Europe.
Owner Sye Webster said it had “never been lost” – until he loaned it to two friends when they went to Dublin to watch Scotland play Ireland.
Ryan Squire and Gareth Mowbray accidentally left the flag in their hotel when they rushed to catch a flight.
When they realised they decided to enlist the help of two Canadian air hostesses to bring it home.
Throughout the ordeal, Sye had no idea the flag had been lost – until he spotted pictures of it online in Toronto.
Sye, from Arbroath, said: “During the day of the game in Dublin they had got talking to and drinking with two Canadian air hostesses from Toronto who were enjoying the Scotland fans’ hospitality.
“They partied all night and Ryan and Gareth slept in for their return flight home to Scotland. In their rush to get to the airport they left the flag in the hotel room.”
It was only when they got home that the duo realised they didn’t have the precious banner.
They made numerous frantic phone calls to the Dublin hotel – but were quoted a “fortune” to get the flag sent back to them.
Instead, they decided to get back in touch with the Canadian air hostesses who agreed to pick up the flag at the hotel the next time they flew to Dublin.
The ladies collected the flag and took it back to Toronto with them on their return flight before taking it sightseeing.
With the banner in their possession, they arranged to meet Ryan and Gareth in Edinburgh the next time they flew into Scotland.
The first that Sye knew about the flag’s adventure was when Ryan tagged him in some pictures on Facebook, which showed the girls posing with the flag over 3,000 miles away.
He wrote: “Sye Webster mind that flag you told me to guard with my life in Dublin? It went AWOL and ended up in Toronto, Canada.”
The flag eventually arrived home last week – almost two months after the fateful Dublin trip.
Sye said: “So from going to a simple Scotland game trip in June to Dublin, the flag has been on planes, trains and automobiles to the other side of the world and back.”
