Mystery solved! Good Samaritans were behind the £2,000 cash bundles left around pit village
It’S a mystery that left residents baffled: who was leaving bundles of cash all over their former mining village?
Left on pavements for locals to collect, the packages always contained 100 £20 notes. Police had kept the discoveries quiet, but revealed their existence in November after the latest in a series of 13 was handed in – taking the total to £26,000.
Blackhall resident teresa Combey, 73, was out shopping when she came across £2,000 wrapped in an elastic band.
‘to be honest, I was horrified, petrified,’ she said. ‘I thought it might be drug money or maybe something to do with a crime.’
thankfully, after five years, two good Samaritans have finally come forward to reveal the source of the cash. Durham Police said the pair had contacted them to confirm they have been leaving money in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, after receiving ‘unexpected windfalls’. the anonymous duo, who wish to remain unnamed, are not a couple – but one is believed to be a woman who wanted to ‘repay the kindness’ she had received from the community.
Durham Police declined to say how the pair knew each other and suggested they ‘teamed up’ to leave the packages. Both have been described as having a ‘ strong emotional attachment’ to the village.
It is unclear whether they will continue to leave more cash in the future – but any packages that are handed in to police will be returned to the finders.
Mrs Combey donated most of her £2,000 to charities for Alzheimer’s research and guide dogs for the blind.
the great-grandmother said: ‘It’s really nice to know the money has been left by someone who meant for it to be found and feels a connection to Blackhall. I’ve wondered over and over who it might have been. I’m now really curious about who the people are who left it.
‘It’s nice that they feel they’ve been helped by people here, but that’s what this place is like. No matter how hard up people are, they’re always willing to help other people.’
Detective Constable John Forster of Durham Police said: ‘I’m really pleased we have an answer to this mystery and am glad we can now definitively rule out the money being linked to any crime.
‘Something heart-warming has happened to these two people and they are now in the position to give something back to... reward the village.
‘their methods may have been unusual but I’m glad it’s turned out to be an act of genuine kindness.’