A BOURNEMOUTH taxi driver drove more than 1,500 miles to prove that the story he often regaled in his local pub hadn’t been clouded by alcohol or the passage of time.

Undaunted by the prospect of a 32-and-a-half hour round trip, without a fare-paying passenger, Tony Rees, 54, set off from Springbourne to travel by car and then ferry to his hometown of Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands.

As well as reliving childhood memories, father-of-six Tony was determined to silence sceptics including his close friend Ieuan Llewellyn.

Ieuan, 51, who lives in the Pokesdown area of the town, told the Daily Echo how Tony had often reminisced about how he had won the Kirkwall Ba’ ball in 1973.

The game, believed to date back to Viking times, is played on the streets of Kirkwall every Christmas and New Year’s Day.

But, without the distinctive cork ball Tony claimed to have retrieved from the rightful winner during a back garden scuffle almost four decades ago, he had no proof of his success. Despite Tony’s protestations, Ieuan remained convinced it was just another tall tale.

In a bid to prove Ieuan wrong, Tony set off for Kirkwall last month. He said: “I’d brought the ball back to my mother’s house after the game.

“Winners tended to display them as trophies in their windows but mine ended up in our attic. Mum moved house and we lost track of where the ball had gone for decades.”

But during a search Tony eventually found the missing ball in the airing cupboard. When he arrived back in Bournemouth with his prize, freelance publisher Ieuan was flabbergasted.

He said: “I’d always made fun of Tony when he told the Kirkwall Ba’ story. Luckily I didn’t put a wager on as I would have lost my bet.”

Tony said: “It was a long way to travel but it was worthwhile. After so many years of ribbing from Ieuan, I managed to prove my point.”