ANYONE who found themselves in the White Horse pub in Bootham on May 19 would no doubt have been surprised to find dozens of Heart of Midlothian FC fans, a long way from home but absolutely jubilant as their team won the Scottish Cup.

Six years ago, we were a disparate group of exiles, each struggling alone to find pubs willing to show Scottish football. Today, the York Hearts Supporters Club has brought 45 of us together and is one of the biggest Hearts supporters clubs outside Scotland.

It is only right that we publicly acknowledge the support of The Press, which has printed our various little news snippets over the years, and also Dan Murphy, landlord of the White Horse, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us.

He has repeatedly accommodated our requests for matches to be shown on TV, and has endured our sorrows and jubilations over the years, as well as sponsoring our 7-A-Side team.

The cup final, in which we beat our Edinburgh rivals 5-1, was a high point for York Hearts, as it was for Hearts fans everywhere, and we hope Dan and his team enjoyed the celebrations as we did!

Ian Warner, Chairman, York Hearts, South Bank, York.