A Specsavers employee pretended to take part in the world Ironman Triathlon events and garnered sponsorship to travel to Hawaii and Austria at the company's expense. The 'Walter Mitty life' of David Deans, a lab technician in Aberdeen and former Gordon Highlander Lance Corporal, was exposed last week, capturing the imagination of the press and attracting national media coverage. Deans, it has been reported, claimed he took part in triathlons in Europe and the Pacific, even coming back with a medal from one event which he gave to his optical employers. But last week he admitted he did not take part in either contest Ð which involved a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle race followed by a marathon Ð and later confessed the medal had been bought in a trophy shop. According to reports it was a genuine triathlete, miffed at reading of Deans' achievements in a local newspaper when he did not recognise him from the endurance events circuit, that triggered off an internal investigation at the technician's place of work. Reportedly the company was willing to back him for a further five years to allow him to prepare for the ironman triathlon world title. Now he has been made to pay back the £1,500 given to him by Specsavers, and apologised for his actions via a statement published in the Glasgow Herald (September 30). 'I am truly sorry for my actions and want to apologise to the public, my family and employers for misleading them in this way and for any embarrassment I have caused,' he told the paper. 'I made a serious error of judgment and the situation got completely out of control.' Specsavers Aberdeen told the Herald: 'The validity of his sponsorship was brought into question two weeks ago and we immediately suspended David and embarked upon a full investigation. Disciplinary action has been taken and David has agreed to reimburse the full amount. We are obviously disappointed by what appear to be uncharacteristic actions of an otherwise hard-working and reliable employee.'
