Ipswich Town's Mick Lambert finds 'stolen' FA Cup medal under bed Published duration 13 February 2019

image caption Mick Lambert believed the medal had been stolen in a burglary

A former footballer who reported his FA Cup winner's medal as stolen has found it under his bed.

Ipswich Town hero Mick Lambert thought he had lost his prized possession in a burglary on 18 January, when a car and jewellery were also taken.

Mr Lambert said the 1978 winner's medal, engraved with his name, must have rolled under the bed as burglars ransacked his home in Ipswich.

He said he was "chuffed and relieved" to have it back.

Mr Lambert, 68, earned the medal in Ipswich's victory over Arsenal.

'A great feeling'

He said he found the medal underneath the bed, which had been strewn with empty jewellery boxes and the empty medal box after the burglary.

"I've no idea how it got there," Mr Lambert said.

"We needed to get to plugs at the back of the bed, and the two of us were moving it when my wife found the medal.

"It's a great feeling to have it back."

image copyright Getty Images image caption Lambert, standing second from right, came on as a substitute in the 1978 FA Cup final

He and his wife Margaret, 66, arrived home to find burglars had broken into their property between 18:00 and 19:45 GMT.

The raiders took a white Ford Fiesta, a TV and jewellery of sentimental value, though the car has since been recovered.

The couple's passports also went missing, prompting them to postpone a planned holiday to the Caribbean.

image copyright Margaret Lambert image caption Mick Lambert's FA Cup winner's medal was engraved with his name

At the time, Mr Lambert said the medal was a reminder of "the greatest day of his life".

"It's the one thing you have that other people don't," he said.