Christmas saved as €1,800 is returned
GOOD SAMARITAN HANDS LOST WALLET BACK TO MAN CRYING ON MAIN STREET
A BRAY MAN who found €1,800 in a wallet in the street returned it to a distraught owner moments later.
Lee Hempenstall picked up the wallet at the Holy Redeemer last Monday. There was no ID and just a faded Credit Union receipt.
He went towards the Credit Union and hap- pened to notice that there was a man on the other side of the road in a distressed state.
People were trying to console the man, who had realised he had lost all of the Christmas money he and his wife had saved.
When Lee handed him the wallet he grabbed him into a hug and thanked him. ‘Everyone around him was just saying it was great he got it back,’ said Lee. ‘He was still shaking and upset, all I could say was it’s okay, you have it back now.’
The man told Lee that his daughters would not have been getting their gifts this Christmas without that money.
Lee posted what had happened on Facebook because he was happy with the outcome. He has been overwhelmed by the response – and believes anyone would have done the same thing.
A young man proved that honest people exist, when he returned a wallet containing €1,800 which he found on the street in Bray.
Lee Hempenstall (28) is from Dwyer Park in Bray and works at Paddy Power in Tallaght.
He spotted the wallet on the path outside the Holy Redeemer last Monday, picked it up, and realised there was a large amount of money inside.
It’s not uncommon to wonder if you would be tempted to keep it if you ever found money.
‘ To be honest it was the first thing that came into my head,’ said Lee. ‘But I believe in karma. I couldn’t have kept it.’
However there was no identification inside the wallet other than an old xtra vision card and a Credit Union receipt.
‘ The account number was worn off,’ said Lee. He started walking towards the Credit Union, and had taken a photo of the wallet in the hope that social media might identify the owner.
‘I noticed a commotion on the other side of the road,’ he said. ‘ There was a man with his face in his hands crying, saying he had lost his savings. People were trying to comfort him and saying “it’s ok, you’ll find it”.’
Lee went over and asked the man if the wallet was his.
‘He just gave me the biggest hug ever,’ said Lee.‘He told me he had just withdrawn it from the Credit Union 20 minutes ago. He and his wife had saved the money for Christmas and his two girls wouldn’t have gotten presents without it.’
Lee thinks anyone would do the same and has been surprised by the amount of attention his good deed has gotten.
‘I didn’t expect it,’ he said. ‘I did put it up on my Facebook just because I thought it was a good thing that happened.’