£10,000 OF TICKETS FOR BROOKS

GRETNA owner Brooks Mileson will buy £10,000 worth of Scottish Cup Final tickets - then give them away to local schoolchildren.

He wants to ensure kids connected to the club will get the chance to see their heroes in action against Hearts at Hampden on May 13.

Gretna has a population of around 2700 but took a 5000-strong travelling support to the National Stadium for their semifinal win over Dundee.

The SFA have given the Raydale Park outfit an initial allocation of 6900 for the final but this could rise to more than 10,000 if there is sufficient demand. Hearts will receive 30,800 tickets but will also be offered more if necessary.

Mileson is confident the 10,000 barrier will be easily broken and aims to help it along by snapping up 1000 briefs at £10 each.

He said: "I've been assured we will get more tickets than first allocated if we need them and I'm happy with that. We have 120 schools attached to the club and first of all I will buy 1000 tickets for the kids. But I'm confident we will have around 10,000 to 12,000 there on the day judging by the interest shown so far."

A spokesman for Hearts was confident their allocation would be snapped up within days of going on sale.

He said: "We're confident we will sell all 30,800 tickets.

"Over the next few days we will be investigating how we allocate those tickets and although we will first and foremost cater for seasonticket holders, we have to strike a balance because we want to encourage many new and existing supporters, who are not season-ticket holders, to come along."

Hearts fans will be in the South West, West, North and part of the East stands while Gretna supporters will be housed in the South East and part of the East stands.

Prices for the East Stand family section are £20 for adults and £10 for children, while other prices range from £25 to £35.

Taken from the Daily Record