Villa fan to be reunited with beloved lost scarf

An Aston Villa fan who lost his beloved supporter's scarf is set to be reunited with the 53-year-old knitwear after a social media appeal to find it.

Grant Danskine, a season ticket holder at Villa Park, lost the stripy claret and blue gear after his team's draw with Liverpool on Wednesday, and only realised it was gone when he arrived home in Hemel Hempstead about 100 miles away.

The "devastated" fan took to social media to see whether anyone had found the item, which had travelled with him across England and into Europe over the past half century.

Step forward Stewart Garratt who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for his fellow Villa fan, finding a "needle in a haystack" on Thursday.

Mr Garratt was one of 2.3 million people to see the appeal on X, and decided to see whether he could track back better than the world's finest players.

"I felt immediately gutted for the man," he said, explaining how he drove from work in Edgbaston, Birmingham, to the area of the city in which Mr Danskine had parked.

"I thought it's so precious with how old the scarf was and that he'd taken it everywhere with him following the Villa."

Mr Garratt was not wrong about the sentimental value. Mr Danskine's mother had sewn a club crest on to the scarf which he got at the age of 12.

But where was it?

"It was like a needle in a haystack," Mr Garratt said of the hunt. "I could not believe it when I saw it on some railings.

"Hopefully Grant can make some more memories with his scarf."

The strangers are now due to meet before their side's Premier League tie against Chelsea on Saturday so that Mr Danskine can be reunited with the item.

Of his scarf's short-lived disappearance, Mr Danskine said: "I was devastated as I've had it for 53 years - since I was 12 years old.

"It's been to every Villa match I've ever been to so it's travelled a long way.

"I was really gutted that I'd lost it."

He added: "It brought a tear to my eye that someone would actually take that time out of his day to actually go and try and find the scarf for me.

"It's an absolutely brilliant gesture from Stuart."

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