THE son of a farmer who passed away in February has told the Post of his appreciation for a Bankie who returned a glass milk bottle, belonging to his dad’s farm, some 60 years after it was made.

Tricia McBrearty, 69, found the buried bottle, bearing the name of Linburn Farm in Erskine, as she was replacing the fence in her back garden.

She told how the bottle was still in great condition, despite its age, and she felt compelled to return it to the farm mentioned on the label.

Linburn was owned by farmer John Stevenson for decades, before he passed it on to his son, Matthew.

The farm did not deliver to homes in Clydebank, but it did deliver to the Singer sewing machine factory – and it’s thought that an employee of Singer’s lived at Tricia’s address on Holly Street before she moved in 30 years ago.

Matthew was made aware of the bottle when Tricia posted about it on an Erskine community group on Facebook.

Describing how it felt as if he was receiving a ‘message in a bottle’ from his father, Matthew said: “I thought it was such a lovely thing for Tricia to reach out and return the bottle to me rather than throw it away.

“Since losing my dad, the grief has been overwhelming – but this has really put a smile on my face.

“We moved from bottles to cartons in 1960, and I haven’t seen one since then, so it was quite a throwback.

“I met with Tricia on Sunday [June 14] and she told me how she had never moved the fence – but after dropping her hedge trimmers down the back of it, she pulled the fence away to retrieve them, and there it was.

“The label has not been damaged, so she could identify where it was from. It’s been protected from the wind and rain all these years, because of the hedge.”

Tricia said: “I was gardening when I found it and straight away I knew it was old but unique.

“I posted on Facebook and Matthew’s business came up, so I got in touch and asked him if he wanted it.

“Matthew told me of his father’s passing in February, and I am so glad I decided to return it. He was very grateful and it brought back memories for him.

“Later on Sunday, he sent me a picture of his dad, and it’s as if we have gone full circle.”