Bayern Munich replace English fan's 21-year-old mug

An English football fan who tweeted that his 21-year-old Bayern Munich mug was "faded and cracked" has been sent a new one - by the club itself.

Jim Entwistle, 33, from North Yorkshire, wrote that he was "retiring the mug after thousands of brews".

The German club noticed the message and asked for his postal address.

The free, replacement mug arrived on Tuesday - with a letter from the club saying: "We are really proud to have fans as loyal as yourself."

Jim, from Tunstall near Richmond, was given his first Bayern Munich mug as a birthday present in 1996.

His uncle - who lives in Germany - sent him the gift after Bayern beat Jim's team, Nottingham Forest, in the Uefa Cup.

Jim said: "I think he (the uncle) thought he was being funny, but over the years the mug and I became quite attached.

"It followed me around the country, through uni and work. Others have come and gone but it's always been there.

"I must have had thousands of brews out of it, but it's starting to show its age so I thought I'd retire it.

"I just threw out a tweet before work one morning (on 8 June). By lunchtime, my phone was going berserk.

"I'd been followed by Bayern and all their fans were tweeting me. One wanted my old mug. What a world we live in.

"So they offered to send me a new one, which was a lovely gesture. I'm giving it to my baby son - I'm hoping he won't be a Forest fan.

"I work in social media (for the Great North Air Ambulance) so it's easy to be cynical about these things. But sometimes it's just nice to be nice, isn't it?"