Cash found in safe at Suffolk scrapyard donated to charity

East Anglian Children's Hospice and St Elizabeth Hospice each received £8,000

Bundles of cash found in a safe have been donated to charity after a court ruled the scrap metal dealer which made the discovery was the legal owner.

Staff at Sackers, near Ipswich, made the "extraordinary discovery" in April and the money was handed to police.

After an investigation found the cash was not proceeds of crime or reported missing, a court decided Sackers was the legal owner when no-one claimed it.

East Anglian Children's Hospice and St Elizabeth Hospice each received £8,000.

The haul was made up of some legal tender and some old notes

Upon discovery of the safe, staff guessed there was about £20,000 inside but after all invalid money had been removed the amount that could be cashed by the bank was £14,416.

Sackers rounded the amount up to £16,000 and decided to split the money between the two charities.

Joint managing director of Great Blakenham-based Sackers Adrian Dodds said: "The money was never ours in the first place so there was no question it had to go to charity.

"We fought to get it back because we wanted to keep it locally invested for the benefit of Suffolk."

Sacker's said a member of staff noticed the money while cutting up the safe

Matron at East Anglian Children's Hospice Harriett Warner praised the "extraordinary find and even more extraordinary generosity" of the scrap metal dealer.

"We rely so heavily on voluntary donations to deliver our services and donated treasure like this really does make a significant difference," she said.

Hannah Bloom from St Elizabeth Hospice said she was "very grateful" for the "incredible donation".

"We are passionate about ensuring there is no charge for our services, and we rely on the support of the local community and businesses in order to enable us to continue to do this," she said.