Staff at a recycling centre near Bristol made an unexpected find when sifting through rubbish – a cardboard box stuffed with thousands of pounds in cash.
Workers at the recycling centre in Midsomer Norton were sifting through the items looking for a recycling cable when they noticed the box inside another box.
But what they found inside the box left them open mouthed – there was £15,000 in cash squirreled inside.
Police were informed of the find and CCTV footage was checked, identifying those who dumped the box.
Officers then captured the details of the vehicle which was driver using the automatic number plate recognition cameras at the site.
Checks showed the car was registered to a keeper in Burnham-on-Sea.
Neighbourhood police community support officers were then tasked to visit the address, where they found the car parked on the driveway.
Officers spoke to the couple about the find to discover they had dropped the boxes at the recycling centre as they were clearing the house of a relative who recently passed away.
A police spokesman said: “Our officers spoke to the couple who lived at the property..
“They told us they had been in the Bath area clearing the house of a relative who had recently passed away.
“On their way back home, they said they had taken a number of bags and items to the depot.
After the couple chose to come to Radstock Police Station, it was agreed their account matched the property found.
Despite the fact they mentioned that the relative was known to hide money around the house in unusual places, they were aghast to hear the details of the find £15,000 in cash.
We would like to say a big thank you to the staff at the recycling centre.
"Without their diligent attitude, integrity and assistance, the family would never have known about the money found, and we would not have been able to return it to them, especially in time for Christmas.”
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