Mercer Merger - 20 years on: Bigotry shocked River City star

ACTOR Billy McElhaney got a taste of the small-minded attitude which pervaded Scottish football – and still does in some quarters – as he collected signatures on a petition opposing Wallace Mercer's bid.

McElhaney (pictured), who plays Jimmy Mullen in BBC soap River City, took advantage of a theatre tour to drum up support for Hands off Hibs, taking to the streets of various towns between shows.

The actor, who once played alongside Hearts star John Robertson's brother Chris in the Edinburgh Primary Schools team, said: "I was in Ayr and between the afternoon matinee and evening shows I met a very eclectic mix of fans, Hibs, Jambos, St Mirren, Celtic and Ayr United obviously but, when I approached two guys who said they were Rangers supporters, the answer was 'no, no danger'.

"They then told me it would be great to have one less 'fenian' team in the Scottish League. It was just typical of that small-minded West of Scotland attitude. To be fair, though, there were a good few other Rangers fans who signed.

"And, overall, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of football fans, whatever team they followed, who were right behind us."