A Nottinghamshire woman says being reunited with her late dad's lost Nottingham Panthers shirt would be like getting part of him back. The top, from the 1990s, was accidentally given to a charity following the sudden death of Sophie Buchan's dad, Andy, last month.
Sophie, a 25-year-old accountant from Arnold, said it had sentimental value after going to dozens of Panthers games with her dad in her youth. "He was a big fan, particularly when I was younger," she said.
"We had season tickets and we'd go with my grandad on my mum's side every week for a good few years. He always followed the scores after that too."
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Andy, an engineer, died suddenly and unexpectedly at the beginning of December last year, aged 54. "He was a very, very selfless man," Sophie said.
"He had me and my 10-year-old half-brother and he adored us. When I've heard from all his friends the main thing that came across was how much he loved us, they said he didn't stop speaking about his kids."
When Andy's belongings were sorted through, Sophie said his beloved Panthers jersey was accidentally put in a bin bag that was collected by the Air Ambulance charity. By the time she realised a few days later as the Christmas period approached, the clothes were sorted and sent to shops.
Sophie is now appealing for people to keep an eye out for the item, with combined colours of yellow, red and black, at the charity's shops. She said she was told the shirt was likely to have gone to the south of the country.
"It's really sentimental, it was a vintage jersey from the 90s that he got at the time. He kept it over the years. It's not just a case of getting one similar, it's one of a kind," she said.
"It would be like getting a bit of my dad back, something that I know he really loved. It's a special part of our lives that we shared together."
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