Dundee gives African tribe wet response

WHAT'S IN a name? Take Dundee. A tribal chief from Cameroon was so struck by the similarity between the internal alliterative qualities of the name and that of his own village, he wanted them twinned.

To Chief Gaston Kamsung - who consulted an atlas for a suitable partner - the Scottish town sounded pretty much like Ndounde. Ndounde has a population of 2,000 - mainly subsistence farmers, while Dundee, the erstwhile capital of jute and jam, has 150,000 residents. But it was the sound of the name that was important.

Alas, Dundee is already twinned with five cities so council leaders "politely declined" the request. But tonight local businesses are supporting a charity auction to raise pounds 20,000 to provide Ndounde with a fresh water supply. "I know the people of Cameroon are grateful for the support we've offered," said the Lord Provost, Mervyn Rolfe. "All we've asked is they send us a couple of decent footballers."