Slighted Sunderland bagpiper to appear on Good Morning Britain after floods of support

The Echo reported how the award-winning musician, originally from Scotland, was sent a nasty note by second-class post, referring to the “disgraceful disturbance” of his “pathetic attempt at playing” his “so-called” instrument.

Alan, 37, who moved to Sunderland in 2015, said he only practised outside for 30 minutes, twice a week at around 4.30pm, and his neighbours had always been supportive and enjoy his playing.

Since the Echo broke the story he has had floods of support, with the national media rushing to pick up his tale seeing him appear in newspaper headlines, pipe out Radio Four’s Today programme with John Humphrys, and have a law professor back him up on BBC Scotland. He’s even featured in Country Life.

Now Alan has been invited to appear on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday August 19 – an offer he was at first reluctant to take up as it is his son Harry’s fourth birthday.

Producers, however, invited Harry, his wife Georgia and their month-old son Benjamin to join him in London.

Alan, an IT manager with the Ministry of Justice, said: “It should be a nice family day out.”

He added: “It’s crazy how it’s all taken off. Georgia’s fine with it. She keeps chuckling about it. She doesn’t quite know what to make of it.

“I rang my parents to see that they were okay with it after I’d been called ‘a public nuisance’. But they were okay too.”

Meanwhile, the identity of the person who set him on his unlikely road to fame by complaining about the “horrendous racket”, remains unknown.

Alan added: “I think it’s a bit sad. I don’t think the person who wrote the letter is a bad person. But people become overly critical when they sit down at a keyboard.”

The 37-year-old plays with City of Newcastle Pipe Band, and has won a number of trophies for his piping, as well as performing in Moscow’s Red Square and on Russian national television.