Cricketer given Freedom of City

Irvin Iffla arrived in Stirling in 1951 and played into his 70s

A cricketer from Jamaica has become only the second person to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Stirling.

Irvin Iffla, 85, arrived in Stirling in 1951 to take up the post of professional cricketer for the local county cricket club.

During his career, he took more than 1,600 wickets, scored more than 13,000 runs and won medals in all three Scottish major leagues.

His career stretched until 1993, and he continued playing into his 70s.

He was granted the freedom of the city in recognition of his long standing commitment and contribution to the public life of Stirling as a sportsman and citizen.

Stirling was granted city status in 2002 and the first person to receive the freedom was Lt Col Frank Saunders, a war veteran and former councillor.

The honour was also previously awarded to 43 Fighter Squadron RAF in 2005.

Prior to receiving city status, Freedom of the Burgh was given to the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

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