Preston announce they will provide a signed shirt and tour of the stadium to young fan who had Jermaine Beckford's shirt stolen
Club release an extended statement on their website
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Your support makes all the difference.Preston North End have announced on their website that they will hand a signed shirt and a tour of the stadium to eight-year-old Ted Dockray.
After scoring a hat-trick at Wembley Stadium to send Preston into the Championship, Jermaine Beckford handed his shirt to the youngster - which then appeared to be stolen out of his hands by Vickie Timbrell, 31.
The shirt then briefly appeared for sale on Gumtree for £1,500 before the classified ads website removed the advert because of fan pressure.
Timbrell claimed that she knew Ted’s family and that she would “clear the air” with them, but Ted’s aunt confirmed that he was devastated and claimed that the shirt had been “stolen” off him.
Timbrell who has been branded a 'shirt snatcher' and 'scum' on social media, said that her side of the story would come out and that she had reported the incident to the police - although Greater Manchester Police say they have no record.
Preston North End FC moved to make a long statement on the incident on Tuesday night, stating that they would give Ted a signed Jermaine Beckford shirt and a tour of Deepdale.
"The Club are fully aware of an incident in Sunday’s Play-Off Final win over Swindon Town involving Jermaine Beckford’s match shirt," read a statement.
"The Club have been in consultation with the Football League and the parents of the child who is alleged to have had the shirt taken from him as seen on television cameras covering the match.
P"lease note, no one involved in this situation is connected with Preston North End in any way, shape or form. The people seated in the area of the incident attended the Play-Off Final as part of the League One Football League Kids’ Cup Final which was played earlier in the day.
"We are delighted to say that Jermaine is more than happy to sign and present the child involved with his spare match shirt from the game.
"The Club will also provide a stadium tour for the youngster. If the shirt that Jermaine wore is returned to us, we will of course present this to the child in question instead.
"The Club will not be commenting further on the matter at this time and would like the focus returned to Sunday’s fantastic achievement and building towards what will be an exciting season in the Championship."
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