Mystery birthday girl gives gift to Cumbernauld firefighters

The crews at Cumbernauld Fire Station received a card with £100 in it from the 80-year-old pensioner, who declined gifts and instead asked for money to pass on to the staff at their Greenfaulds Road base.

And she said the money had to be spent on the teams themselves, such as the tea kitty or a takeaway as a means of rewarding themselves for the hard work they do on behalf of the public at large.

After plainly stating this unexpected request, the message took an even more touching turn after the writer made it clear why she had decided to take this course of action.

And it all stemmed from her strong desire to pay tribute to the men and women who are willing to put their life on the line day in day out, so that locals stay safe.

The public-spirited birthday girl wrote: “I have been blessed to have no need of your services so far but have great admiration for the work that you do and pray for your safety. God bless.’’

Although the crew were aware that the cash had been handed in by the lady’s family, they say they don’t even know the individuals involved.

Gobmacked crew commander Raymond Maguire said: “We were all very suprised and obviously want to say a big thank you to this lady. I will say that the station has been left money in a will but this is obviously quite different to that.”

And he revealed that a slap up feed could be on the cards for the crews who like a good Indian-style tuck-in when their work is done.

“The donation will be divided up amongst the five shifts. I think we’ll probably all have a curry at the end of our shifts,’’ he added.