EIGHT YEARS have passed since Taunton woman Alice Gillett returned her grandfather's book to Hereford Cathedral School 130 years late.

In 2014, the then 77-year-old stumbled across the school library book, 'The Microscope and its Revelations' by Dr William B. Carpenter, while sorting through her late husband's possessions.

The 1,000-page book had been borrowed from the school library in 1886, when her grandfather, professor Arthur Boycott, was a pupil there.

A date stamp inside revealed it had been on loan since then.

Mrs Gillett returned the book to the school 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!"

Fortunately for Mrs Gillett, the school does not charge for overdue books.

Had they done so, the fine could have amounted to £7,446, based on a 17p-a-day charge at most libraries.

Her grandfather, Mr Boycott, was a keen naturalist and pathologist who graduated with first-class honours in natural science.

Mrs Gillett said: "As a child, he took great interest in natural history, and his particular passion was snails.

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

"He also had a fascination with fauna and flora, which 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."

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."

This story serves as a reminder of the other book returned by Sir Jay Tidmarsh a couple of years ago, a copy of Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham, which he failed to return to Taunton School library 65 years previously.