Sir Gareth Southgate surprises Leeds post office staff

Post office workers in Leeds were left "buzzing" after a surprise visit from Sir Gareth Southgate. The former England manager popped into Moortown Post Office during a quiet spell on Friday morning, sub-postmistress Ree Williams said.

Staff initially failed to recognize the football icon

Ree and her colleague Meshie Roth knew he was a major figure from the footballing world — but admitted they did not remember his name until after they had asked for a photo. "I said, you must be really watching the football and he said, no, not for me, it's on too late," Ree laughed.

Ree said they did not realize his true identity until another customer came in and recognized him from the photos. "I looked up at him and I thought, gosh, he looks familiar, who is this guy?" she said. "We knew he was famous but just couldn't think of who he was. After we found out, we were buzzing all day and told everyone who came in!"

Southgate bought stamps and posed for photos

Sir Gareth told the women he was in the area because he lives up the road in Harrogate, before buying a book of stamps. "He was so lovely and humble," Ree said. "He didn't bat an eyelid at taking a photo with us, just said 'yeah of course' and put his arm around us."

Following the encounter, the post office staff sent the snaps to their family group chats. "Meshie's family asked if she had used AI to make the picture and then my husband asked if it was fake," Ree said. "He certainly made our day and we still can't believe it."

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