A FRIENDLY feud between famous footballers has impacted on the lives of a Tynedale family.

Former England defenders Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville often take friendly digs at each other on social media, but the latest series resulted in Scott Forsyth (37), of Wylam, being inundated with phone calls and text messages – some of them “obscene and disturbing.”

Reacting to ex-Manchester United player Neville missing a penalty in a charity game, Carragher, well-known for his association with Liverpool, asked through Twitter for people to send him video clips via file sharing network WhatsApp, using what he thought was a made-up number.

However, the number actually belonged to Mr Forsyth, and his phone has been ringing non-stop ever since, with people believing the number belonged to Carragher.

Mr Forsyth said: “I’m absolutely furious because the messages don’t stop, and they go on until 2am. I don’t see why a well-known TV personality, an ex-professional footballer, should be pulling numbers out of the sky.

“He may have been drunk and having a laugh, but he is not dealing with the brunt of it. That is me, my girlfriend and her children, and it has had a big impact on us.”

Carragher’s tweet went out on Sunday evening and, within a minute, Mr Forsyth’s phone was buzzing.

He has received hundreds of phone calls and more than 50,000 WhatsApp messages.

Mr Forsyth said: “My phone started ringing immediately and it hasn’t stopped since. My phone was going crazy and I thought it was a virus.

“I answered somebody who said he thought I should check Jamie Carragher’s Twitter, but I didn’t believe it. When I saw Twitter, I couldn’t believe what was happening.

“It was irritating and I could see the funny side initially, but has got out of control and I’ve received a lot of hoax calls, and received some messages which are obscene and disturbing to have on my phone.”

At the time of going to print, Jamie Carragher had not apologised to Mr Forsyth.