The mystery woman who lost her wallet behind a radiator in Manchester nightclub in the 1980s has been found – and 30 years on says: ‘I want my 12p back!’
Sarah Dale was a bob-haired law student when she misplaced her wallet containing 12 pence, a Midland bank card and a library pass, on a night out at Manchester’s Ritz nightclub.
Three decades on, workmen discovered it behind a dusty radiator as they refurbished the popular night spot – sparking a hunt to find its owner owner.
MailOnline tracked down Ms Dale, who is now a 51-year-old lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service and living 200 miles away in Morden, south London.
Today she joked that she is the wallet’s rightful owner and she wants her money back.
‘It’s me!’ she said. ‘It’s a nice story and now I want my 12p back!’
Ms Dale’s wallet, which held 12 pence in change, is a fascinating reminder of how much has changed in three decades.
Inside, is a photographic ID with a black and white passport picture and a bank card belonging to a then-teenage girl called Elizabeth Sarah Dale.
Found: The mystery woman who lost her wallet behind a radiator in Manchester nightclub in the 1980s is a senior government lawyer – and 30 years on says: ‘I want my 12p back!’
Nightclub bosses are hoping to reunite a 1980s clubber with a wallet she lost on a night out 30 years ago
The wallet also held a Cheshire Libraries and Museums card, a University of Manchester Whitworth Park Residents’ Association card from 1985/86, a Midland Bank cheque card, and a payslip.
The photo shows a young woman with a shoulder length hair smiling at the camera and wearing a crimped, silk like jacket or blouse.
Staff from the nighttime venue say they would like to reunite the owner with her wallet.
It is believed Elizabeth lived in Thelwall, Warrington in Cheshire and would now be around 50 years old.
Chris Mann, bar manager at the Ritz, said: ‘We were clearing out the other day because we’re having a refurb in the offices, and it had fallen down the back of a radiator – it must have been lodged there since god knows when.’
Inside, is a photographic ID with a black and white passport picture and a bank card belonging to a then-teenage girl called Elizabeth Sarah Dale as well as a library card and a pay cheque
He said: ‘Inside, it has a library card, an old Midland Bank cash cheque card, about 12p in change, a hand-written invoice, a payslip with the name of the company she worked for and a photographic student ID with an address in Thelwall.
‘She would maybe have been about 18 or 19 back then, so she might be in her early 50s now.
‘It’s coming up to our 90th birthday but this wallet has been here for about 30 years, so we just figured it might be nice to reunite it with its owner.
‘We want to have a chat with them to find out more about what they were doing in the Ritz and whether they actually remember it.’
It discovered behind a radiator during refurbishment work at the Ritz nightclub in Manchester after having been lost at some point during the mid 1980s