THE FUNDING target for repairs to the defaced First Hampden mural has been smashed - even before hundreds from a mystery donor.

The online fundraising page set up to finance the repair of the mural commemorating the site of the original Hampden Park has now raised £2,395 - nearly one thousand pounds over its original target. 

The team behind the effort to fix the crowd-funded mural on the side of the Hampden Bowling Club in Crosshill originally aimed to raise £1,882 - to match the year Scotland beat England 5-2 on the historic pitch. 

After meeting the initial target, support has continued to grow, including a mystery donation of £500 from an anonymous source.

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Barry Kirk, of the Hampden Collection, said: "We set a target we thought was reasonable to get it repaired. 

"When we put it back up we thought there was no point in putting it back up and not having anything to protect it for the future."

He said the response to the call had been "absolutely amazing". 

The Hampden Collection, the group that commissioned and maintains the mural said they planned to coat the restored mural in anti-vandal paint and to have motion-sensor lighting and a fence installed to safeguard the tribute to Scotland's original home ground. 

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We told in February how the mural was wrecked by thoughtless vandals, less than a year after it was completed. 

The mural commemorates the site of the First Hampden Park, which saw Scotland thrash England in a historic 5-2 victory, captained by Andrew Thompson, the first black international footballer.