A WOMAN has avoided a fine of more than £7,000 after she discovered her grandfather's school library book – which was 120 years overdue.

Alice Gillett, 77, found a copy of 'The Microscope and its Revelations' by Dr William B Carpenter, while clearing through her late husband's possessions.

While flicking through the 1,000-page tome, she discovered a date stamp which showed it had been borrowed from the library of Hereford Cathedral School in 1886.

It had been loaned to Mrs Gillett's grandfather, Professor Arthur Boycott, who attended the school between 1886 and 1894.

Mrs Gillett, from Taunton, Somerset, has now returned the book to the school along with a letter apologising for her grandfather 'stealing' it from their collection.

She wrote: "I am sorry to inform you that one of your former pupils, Professor A.E.Boycott appears to have stolen the enclosed - I can't imagine how the school has managed without it!"

The school does not charge for overdue books but if it did, Mrs Gillett could have been facing a fine of £7,446, based on the 17p-a-day charge found at most libraries.

Prof Boycott eventually graduated with first class honours in Natural Science, and became a distinguished naturalist and pathologist so the book would have been of good use to him as a school pupil.

He took a great interest in natural history as a child, and has a particular passion for snails.

Mrs Gillett said that Boycott’s fascination with fauna and flora made him quite a hazardous driver because he was so obsessed with observing the hedgerows.

“My grandmother said he always had snails in his pockets,” she added.

Aged 15, he published his first paper listing the snail species that could be found in Herefordshire.

A spokesperson for the school said: "We are delighted to be reunited with the book and are pleased it is still in such good condition."

It comes after an ancient carving was anonymously returned to the school more than 50 years after it taken as ‘a dare’.

The wooden decoration was posted back to the school with a note apologising and claiming that it had been well looked after. The note said that the finial had been unearthed during a house move.