A FORMER Whitby High School pupil was on hand to snatch a piece of history when revolution flared in part of the old Soviet Union.

Teacher Matthew O'Rourke was in the capital Tbilisi when opponents forced the resignation of Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze.

And, ignoring all warnings, he made his way to City Hall and made off with the ultimate souvenir - a chunk of the deposed leader's chair.

Matthew, a former West Cheshire College lecturer, works for the British Council teaching English to peace-keepers in Armenia.

Georgia's bloodless 'velvet revolution' blew up as he was attending a conference in Tbilisi at a venue just 10 minutes walk from the parliament buildings.

Matthew, who also used to work part-time as a reporter for the Pioneer in the 1990s, said: 'We knew before we went to Tbilisi there had been demonstrations, but no one was really sure how serious they were until we got there.

'All day long there were anti-Shevardnadze speeches and programmes on TV. They drove him out of the parliament while we were still in the hotel. We had been warned by the embassy that things might get violent and to keep away from the parliament.'

He added: 'I bumped into a couple of friends who had decided against advice they would go down to the parliament and they invited me to go with them. Shevardnadze had already fled by this time but there was still a large crowd outside the parliament.

'We decided to go to City Hall. As we arrived the protesters were breaking in. As we were waiting outside we saw someone at the window of Shev's office, then his chair flew out of the window and the crowd started to tear it apart.

'One of my friends ran in and came back with two pieces of it, one for me and one for himself.'

Describing events as 'very exciting', Matthew said: 'I have lived in the Caucasus for three years and have seen the level of governmental corruption.

'I understand how frustrated people feel.'