Football fan's lost wallet returned 34 years on

A Leeds United membership card from 1992 was the buried treasure Mark Dexter never knew he'd lost - until it was found in undergrowth and a social media appeal reunited him with it more than 30 years later.

The card was from the 1992-93 season, when Leeds were the defending league champions and Dexter was a sports reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post.

It was discovered this week by Claire Wilson, who runs a forest school near Leeds, in a patch of overgrown land. She then posted about it on Facebook and it was seen by Dexter's wife.

The journalist, who now lives in Burley-in-Wharfedale, said he had no memory of losing his wallet but used to live in the area and drink in a pub nearby.

"It's next to a public footpath, but I've no recollection of ever walking down there at any time in the past. So I've no idea how it's got there," he said.

"Leeds had beaten Manchester United to the title the season before, and given that I was a sports reporter, you would have thought I would have had more of a smile on my face on the Leeds card, but I look miserable as sin, so I hope I've cheered up a bit since then!"

The wallet, which also contained a membership card for a long-defunct video shop, was found next to a leather jacket, but the 63-year-old cannot remember if that belonged to him.

"The only thing I can think of is either it's been nicked, my jacket, but again I don't remember that, so I don't know what that says about my memory!"

Claire has run the forest school in Rawdon for four years, offering outdoor learning through play for children - and for older nature-lovers too.

It is on land which was once attached to a hotel, and later used as a private garden.

She said she initially uncovered the wallet while working on the plot a year ago, but it was put to one side and eventually swallowed up once again by weeds.

It was rediscovered on Sunday, during a community clean-up.

"Where we found the wallet is next to a dry stone wall that borders some allotments, so it could have been chucked lengthways from the playing fields or just over the wall," Claire said.

The 39-year-old explained the leather jacket was not as well-preserved as the wallet and had been sent to the tip months ago

They are not the first things found there, with a child previously digging up a watch.

"There was no strap, it was just a face - you find all sorts when you're digging," Claire said.

Mark and wife Nicola collected the wallet on Tuesday. He has since wiped the mud from his Whites card, leaving it looking as good as new.

Reminiscing about his life in the 90s, he said: "I'm 63 now, so in '92 I was 30 and happy, having a good time, loving journalism, loving working in newspapers. It was just great."

He said he lived nearby and used to drink in the Emmott Arms, so the wallet could have been misplaced after a night in the pub.

Mark said: "The pub is right next to Rawdon Cricket Club and I'm a big cricket man, so I don't know whether I've had a few drinks at the cricket club or at the pub and somebody pinched it, I really don't know."

For now though, this find among the weeds has made a former sports journalist very happy.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.