A crisps packet believed to be almost 50-years-old has been unearthed at a Scots park in almost perfect condition.
The pickled onion Tudor Crisps bag, costing just 2.5p, was discovered by Sharon and Andy Longhurst at Dunnikier Park in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Tuesday.
The couple, from Burntisland, were on their way to clear up a well known litter hotspot when they noticed rubbish around the base of a tree.
They began lifting the debris when they noticed an array of old food wrappers dating from 1989 to 2005.
As they continued to clear up, they were gobsmacked to find the ancient crisp packet which featured a football badge competition from 1973.
Andy, 55, a member of Fife Street Champions, said: “We were doing our normal litter pick clean and decided to go over there on Tuesday morning.
“We were going along a footpath and saw plastic bits sticking up from the earth at the base of a tree.
“We went to have a look to clear it away and started tugging these crisp packets out.
“We thought it was just normal rubbish but then we started unearthing some that had quite older dates on them.
“They started in 2005, then 2000, 1995, and 1989. We kept digging a little further until I found this packet. We couldn’t see a date at first but what struck me was it had 2.5p on it so I knew it must be really old.
“We brought it home and washed the packet off so we could see a date of June 1973 for claiming a free football badge.
“That means it’s at least 49-years-old but obviously they make the packaging a good few months in advance so it’s probably 50 years old.”
Sharon added: “It was still completely intact. We couldn’t believe that you could read every bit of print on it. So it just shows you how this stuff doesn’t decompose.
“Where it was wedged in between all the other packets, it had obviously preserved really well. It was like a game of Top Trumps.
“It’s a record for our litter picking group - Fife Street Champions. It has brought back a lot of memories for people after we posted the pictures online.
“It’s taken some people back to their childhood.”
The couple, who started litter picking during lockdown, are now considering framing their iconic find.
Tudor Crisps was a brand originally produced in Newcastle upon Tyne with the brand taken over by Smiths Crisps in 1961 and later the Walkers division of PepsiCo.
The Tudor brand was discontinued in 2003.
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