A woman has been reunited with her stolen purse 18 years after it was nicked and still contains a lucky Shamrock and prized picture – of Eric Cantona.
Joanne Beaven, 39, was shocked when police returned her stolen purse after 18 years
Joanne Beaven, 39, was astonished after police turned up to her mum’s house with her purse that she lost at 21 in St Ives, Cambridgeshire in 2000.
She was even more shocked to find the purse still had her credit cards, driving license, and cherished picture of ‘legendary’ Man United player Cantona.
She said: ‘Getting the purse back took me right back to that time.
‘Oh, and the picture of Eric – every girl should have a picture of Eric Cantona in her purse.
‘I’ve always had a big thing for Eric Cantona, though I don’t carry his photo around with me any more.
‘The whole thing is really bizarre, you don’t think that a stolen item will ever turn up, never mind 18 years later.
‘The purse is pretty gross and it doesn’t smell very pleasant – like damp dog.’
Joanne’s purse was pinched from her bag behind reception when she worked for a hotel in St Ives.
She said: ‘Someone waited for a moment when the office was unattended and stole the bag.’
Joanne, from Somersham, Cambridgeshire can’t believe the bizarre surprise and impressed the purse lasted this long although, it smells like damp dog
‘I looked everywhere for the bag, despite knowing exactly where I had left it. After calling my best friend to have a cry, I then called the police to report it stolen.’
Joanne, from Huntington, Cambridgeshire said her bag was found in a ditch a week after she reported it missing, but said there was no sign of her purse which contained bank cards in Joanne Beaven’s maiden name of Kimpton.
But to Joanne’s surprise, a police officer returned the purse last Sunday to her mother’s house.
Joanne’s bag was found in a ditch a week after it was reported missing but there was no sign of the purse
The police officer said it had been posted through the station’s letterbox and he managed to trace her through the address on her then provisional driving licence.
‘It’s lovely that someone took the time to hand it in to the police station, and for them to then take the time to try to find me,’ Joanne added.
Joanne, who was originally from Somersham, had completely forgotten about her purse until police community support officer Phil Davis, of Cambridgeshire Police, called to say it had been found.
A survived picture of Man United player, Eric Cantona, was found among her cards which was carried around by Joanne who crushed on the football star
PCSO Davis added: ‘I went to the postbox at St Ives police station and there was a plastic bag with the wallet inside.
‘The wallet was soaking wet with lots of mud in it but fortunately there was a driving licence in there with an address, so I went round to see if the owner was still there.’
Joanne said she instantly recognised the purse and was in complete shock that it had managed to survive the years.
She added: ‘Whilst the purse is pretty smelly, it has survived amazingly well considering it’s apparently been in a ditch for 18 years.
The muddy purse had all of Joanne’s old bank cards, a Boots advantage card and even a lucky shamrock