FOOTBALL fans paid tribute to the “unofficial mayor of North Berwick” by launching a supporters’ bus in his memory for the Scottish Cup semi-final between Heart of Midlothian FC and Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC.

About 50 fans of the Tynecastle side travelled to Glasgow’s Hampden Park on the Pilmar Smith’s Hearts Bus – named in tribute to the former Hearts vice-chairman and former chairman of Lothian Buses, who died last November aged 87.

The well-known Hearts fan was also a former chairman of East Lothian Constituency Labour Party. He was a friend to many and hugely respected in his adopted home of North Berwick and throughout East Lothian.

The bus was organised by Sean McCashey, owner of North Berwick’s Signals Bistro, on Quality Street, where it departed on Saturday morning.

Said Sean: “Pilmar was just a great friend to me, our staff and so many people in North Berwick and he was, as everyone knows, a huge Hearts fan and would come into Signals five days a week.

“We just thought it would be nice to do this tribute to him by putting on the bus in his honour and getting a flag made up with his name on it.”

Hearts won the match in Glasgow 3-0 and will now face Celtic at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup Final on May 25.

“Pilmar Smith’s Hearts Bus will definitely be going to the cup final next and will hopefully be back next season for other big games,” added Sean. “It was great to have so many people who knew and respected Pilmar joining us on the bus and I’ve had so many texts and messages from people saying how nice it was to do this and that they want a seat on the bus for the final.

“Last year we lost a great fan, a Hearts fanatic and a true gentleman. He would have loved to have joined us – if he was still with us he’d have been the first to put his name down for the bus!”

The supporters’ bus is not the only tribute to Pilmar in the town.

The former bookmaker would also often be seen next door to Signals at Zitto Italian wine bar and restaurant, where a plaque and photograph have been placed at the bar in his honour.

Zitto’s owner Bert D’Agostino described Pilmar as the “unofficial mayor of North Berwick”.

“It was impossible for Pilmar to walk down North Berwick High Street and get to the other end without being stopped many times – he was the most approachable of individuals and went out of his way to help many people,” he said.

“He came into Zitto and brought us the newspapers and had a cup of tea and a blether – every morning!

“We’d see him again most evenings at about 6pm for a glass of wine and he’d hold court and sit at the same spot at the bar.

“On the day he died, we invited as many of his friends as we could to toast his memory – more than 60 people turned up at the last minute.

“He is sorely missed by very many in East Lothian, not just North Berwick, and it is a tribute to the man that people still come in to photograph our plaque.”

The plaque at the bar reads: ‘Pilmar Smith, 1931 -2018, A North Berwick Legend’.