Caitlin Jeffery (pictured), 13, found a wallet stuffed with £1,000 in the street in Exeter, Devon
A schoolgirl handed in a wallet stuffed with £1,000 which a blind and deaf 80-year-old had dropped on a trip to the shops.
Caitlin Jeffery, 13, found the wallet lying in the road in Exeter, Devon, before handing it to a nearby shop keeper, who handed it in to the police station.
There was very little inside the wallet that could be used to identify its owner. However, there was an old picture of an unknown man.
Five strangers tried to claim the wallet, saying that it and the money inside was theirs.
Police started a social media appeal, hoping someone would come forward.
Eventually, it was revealed that 80-year-old Dennis Clatworthy was its rightful owner, told The Mirror.
More than 20 people had called his son Mark, who took his father to the police station where he was able to tell the police that the wallet contained one his old business cards.
Mr Clatworthy had misplaced his wallet on the way to the bank as he nipped into a local butcher.
She decided to hand it in and it was safely returned to 80-year-old Dennis Clatworthy after a social media appeal
In fact, the photo inside was off him about 30 years ago when he was in his 50s.
The grateful OAP admitted Caitlin’s actions had brought a tear to his eye.
‘I know people who would not have handed it in,’ he said.
‘I am so grateful to Caitlin. Teenagers get a hard time but I cannot thank her enough.’
Dennis’s son Mark, 57, added: ‘My dad sent Caitlin a £50 reward. She is saving up and doing jobs to raise £2,000 so she can go on a school trip to Malawi.
Caitlin said: ‘I just saw the wallet lying in the road. There was a lot of money in it and just a photo of a man. I was really happy Dennis got it all back.’