A PAIR of old socks led to the red carpet treatment at Harrods for four Bicester charity workers.

And on the day they visited London's snazzy department store its owner, Mohammed Al Fayed, was arrested by police.

The adventure started when Bicester Help the Aged volunteer Janet Cullup found an unworn pair of men's socks in a bag of jumble. Ms Cullup said: "I looked again and saw a Harrods label with a price stamped on it of 15 shillings and six pence. The socks were very old but had never been worn."

She wrote to Harrods and store bosses said they would like to put the socks in their archives because they were more than 50 years old. In return, the store invited members of the charity shop in Dean's Court, Bicester, to a VIP tour of the store and to receive some presents.

Manageress Dee Robinson and volunteers Janet Cullup, Saang Florin and Sylvia Roberts, the longest serving helper, travelled down on Monday.

It was also the same day that Mr Al Fayed was arrested in connection with the theft of jewellery and documents from a Harrods safe deposit box rented by his arch rival Tiny Rowland.

Mrs Robinson, who had never been to Harrods before, said: "As we were leaving the store we saw a camera crew arrive.

"I thought they had come to film us - but I found out the real reason on the news." She added: "It was a fantastic day. It is just a shame more of us couldn't go down but our shop has to stay open come what may - just like Harrods."

The volunteers who missed out were Jean Birnie, Molly Barnett, Joan Dewar, Susan Pruden, June Powell, Steve Golder, Mo Powell and Margaret Edgar.

Harrods donated a brown teddy bear with the store's distinctive label stitched on one paw and some toys. Bicester Help the Aged is going to raffle the teddy and present it to a winner at Easter.

Harrods archivist Nadene Hansen said the socks were probably about 50 years old.

She said it was hard to date them exactly because few catalogues were printed in the 1940s due to paper rationing.

But she added: "They are hand-knitted socks and were bought for a man with size ten-and-a-half feet who liked the outdoor life."

It is the first pair of old socks to be donated to the archives and a similar pair would cost £15 in Harrods today.

If you donated these socks please contact the Oxford Mail on 01865 425500.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.