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Elderly man Bob Dowsett thanks Good Samaritan who handed in missing £2000 to Margate police

00:01, 25 April 2016

A pensioner wants to thank the kind-hearted person who handed in £2,000 cash he dropped in the street.

Minster resident Bob Dowsett was out for a walk to get some milk and had the money in an envelope at the bottom of his trolley.

The 80-year-old had saved up for months and planned to surprise wife, Sheila, 85, with the money when they made a trip to Paris to watch the French Open.

Bob Dowsett who lost and then recoverd £2000. Picture: Gary Browne
Bob Dowsett who lost and then recoverd £2000. Picture: Gary Browne

It was only when Mr Dowsett returned from the shop that he realised his trolley didn’t have a secure bottom and the envelope had gone missing.

He said: “I didn’t know what to do, it was supposed to be a surprise for my wife so she could buy some beautiful clothes when we went away.

VIDEO: Mr Dowsett thanks the mystery person for handing in the money

“It would have been something nice for us both nearing the end of our lives, I am a very careful person and I was so embarrassed.

“I went straight back to the shop to ask if anybody handed it in but nobody had. I tried to retrace my steps but didn’t find it.

“It was only when I went back later I was told someone had handed it in to police, I took my ID down to Margate police station and got the money back.

“I was absolutely over the moon.”

The retired bank worker also told of his surprise at the fact someone handed his stack of £20 notes in.

Bob Dowsett was hoping to take his wife, Shelia, on holiday to Paris with the money.
Bob Dowsett was hoping to take his wife, Shelia, on holiday to Paris with the money.

Mr Dowsett said: “I am a cynic and didn’t think anyone would be that honest.

“I believed most people would keep it and it was just bad luck, but bad luck turns to good luck sometimes doesn’t it?”

Bob reiterated how much it meant to both him and Sheila that someone handed in the money.

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