Last updated at 09:07, Friday, 19 March 2010

Musician Malcolm Mason’s dream of seeing Carlisle United go for glory at Wembley could have slipped away – down the back of his van’s dashboard.

Malcolm Mason with a ticket

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His tickets to see the Blues take on Southampton in next Sunday’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final are stuck in his Vauxhall Vivaro.

The Lemon Grass country band star left the four tickets he bought for the match in his van, thinking they were in a safe place. Just how safe he didn’t realise until he went to retrieve them from the vehicle – and discovered three of them had slipped beyond reach.

But that wasn’t the only unpleasant shock the Abbeytown man faced.

After forking out just over £100 for the seats at the national stadium, a garage told him it could cost more than four times that amount to retrieve them from their hiding place.

Mr Mason, 65, who is married to former Border Television journalist Gilly Fraser, said: “I thought they were safe enough in the van.

“When I went to take them out, one ticket was stuck up out of the gap between the windscreen and the dash, which I was able to get.

“The other three had slipped down. I contacted a garage. They quoted me £450. They said it would be an eight-hour job to take it out and put it back.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me what a big job it was.”

Mr Mason had bought the tickets for himself, his two sons and six-year-old grandson.

Costs have ruled out getting the dashboard taken off at a garage – but he remains determined to get the tickets back.

He has started to prize the unit forward and is considering using a vacuum cleaner to suck them from one side to the other.

Another option could be to get the windscreen removed and see if the tickets can be reached that way.

Carlisle United have tightened up ticket sales for Wembley to stop Southampton fans buying seats in areas allocated for Cumbrian supporters.

Telephone and internet sales for the final 28 have been suspended.

Tickets are available only to fans on the club’s database who must go to the ticket office at Brunton Park.

First published at 08:50, Friday, 19 March 2010
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk