MOTHERWELL HERO DUNNE HAPPY TO TAKE ON BEAST FROM THE EAST:
‘Superhero’ Charles gives strangers lifts home in snow and explains it was the decent thing to do
DENIED a chance to challenge Premiership strikers in his usual manner, Charles Dunne decided to tackle the Beast from the East.
The result was the Motherwell defender being acclaimed as a local hero for helping complete strangers get home through the snow.
Dunne was supposed to be in action against Aberdeen on Wednesday night before the fixture was wiped out by the Arctic weather that swept through Scotland.
With down-time on his hands, the 25-year-old opted to visit a local gym to keep his fitness ticking over.
As he started to drive home after the work-out, he was struck by the sight of people struggling to walk through the whiteout conditions that prompted a red weather warning from the Met Office.
So he pulled over to offer someone a lift a home. Then went back and did the same again. And again.
Dunne posted clips of his neighbourly pick-ups on his Instagram account. When those were shared by Motherwell fans, the Londoner’s heart-warming gesture amid the big freeze rapidly spread across social media.
Fir Park chief operating officer Alan Burrows responded by branding him ‘a Lanarkshire superhero’ for his unprompted acts of kindness. And this one didn’t need a cape. Just a Jeep.
To modest Dunne, however, it wasn’t anything worth the fuss that followed.
The former Oldham player insists taking time out to help people is second nature from his upbringing.
He simply could not ignore the fact that others were toiling against the extreme elements.
‘There were older people on the street trying to walk through the snow,’ Dunne told Sportsmail. ‘It was snowing quite a bit, so they were getting covered in it.
‘I couldn’t just drive past and let that happen. I offered to pick up some people and they said okay.
‘It was just three people in the end because it was starting to get dark. I asked another lady who had shopping bags with her, but she was alright. I just think you have to imagine if these people were your mum or another family member. You would help them.
‘I had to drive for about 20 minutes to get one person home. So imagine how long it would have taken if he had to walk all that way in the snow? And he had a walking stick.
‘One of the guys had been at a bus stop earlier on but I think the buses in Motherwell had stopped about two o’clock.
‘He said he had been there with an elderly couple who didn’t have money to get a cab back home. When he told me that, I went straight back to the bus stop to see if they were still there but they had gone by then.
‘All I was doing was going home to chill out after the gym, so I thought I might as well try and help a bit. It’s possible that people don’t have family around when the weather is like that, so I felt it was the decent thing to do. That’s how I was brought up.
‘All it took from me was a bit of time. The journey home from the gym would normally take me about ten or 15 minutes.
‘On Wednesday, I was probably out for about an hour or an hour and a half, but I didn’t mind at all. If I’ve got a big car that’s good in the snow, I might as well use it to help people out.
‘No one I picked up recognised me. I don’t even know if they followed football. But that wasn’t why I did it. I just thought it was a nice thing to do. As I say, if my mum or anyone else was in that situation then I’d want someone to help them.’
Dunne was somewhat taken aback, then, when his impromptu rescue service became a minor online sensation.
‘I had it on my Snapchat at first,’ he said. ‘Then I was speaking to a friend in London and he said I should put it on Instagram. At first I was like: “Nah...” But I did it and it went a bit crazy.
‘I’ve seen some of things people have said but I am sure there are a lot of real unsung heroes who have done a lot more than me out there.
‘I just believe there are people who are worse off. So I don’t mind if I can help a little bit.
‘All the boys at Motherwell have been buzzing about the reaction. But they know that is just me. As a footballer, I always try to be positive, but humble as well. You could get a bad injury and end up not playing any more, so you always have to keep things in perspective. We are all human at the end of the day.’
Dunne hopes the weather will relent sufficiently to allow him to return to his day job.
Sunday’s home Scottish Cup quarter-final against Hearts provides Stephen Robinson’s side with a chance to book a return to Hampden after reaching the League Cup final last November.
‘If it goes ahead, I hope we can get another good result because we have beaten Hearts at Fir Park already this season,’ said Dunne.
‘It won’t be an easy game at all, but it would be brilliant to get into the semi-finals.’