Pensioner who didn't trust banks loses entire £80,000 life savings after leaving cash on roof of his car
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:14 AM on 25th November 2010
A pensioner lost his life savings of £80,000 after leaving the cash on the roof of his car and driving off. The 68-year-old man, who doesn’t trust banks, had been moving the money between his home and place of work. When he realised his error he began a desperate search with his grandson near his home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
The pensioner said he had found plastic bags in which he had placed the money discarded in a street.
But all they were able to find were the plastic bags the notes had been kept in. The man, who has asked not to be named, would take the money from his bedroom and put it in the car when he went to work. ‘My car is never more than 10ft from me at work so I can keep an eye on it,’ he said. ‘That morning I left at about 6.20am and didn’t realise I had lost it until noon.’
'I went home and checked my bedroom in case I had left it there. 'Then I realised I must have put it on the roof of my car. If not, I may put it down as I got in the car, but either way it was gone.' The man, who still works as a panel beater and painter, said he had saved £2,000 every year all his working life. He appealed for the cash to be returned.
For years, he kept it under his bed but when his guard dog died he decided to keep it close by at all times. Disaster struck last Thursday when he put down the blue drawstring bag holding it to unlock his car. He added: ‘I’m gutted. I don’t hold out much hope of getting it back but if I do I will give a reward to whoever brings it back.’ Essex Police called for the cash to be handed in – and urged savers to keep their money in a bank.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:14 AM on 25th November 2010
A pensioner lost his life savings of £80,000 after leaving the cash on the roof of his car and driving off. The 68-year-old man, who doesn’t trust banks, had been moving the money between his home and place of work. When he realised his error he began a desperate search with his grandson near his home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
The pensioner said he had found plastic bags in which he had placed the money discarded in a street.
But all they were able to find were the plastic bags the notes had been kept in. The man, who has asked not to be named, would take the money from his bedroom and put it in the car when he went to work. ‘My car is never more than 10ft from me at work so I can keep an eye on it,’ he said. ‘That morning I left at about 6.20am and didn’t realise I had lost it until noon.’
'I went home and checked my bedroom in case I had left it there. 'Then I realised I must have put it on the roof of my car. If not, I may put it down as I got in the car, but either way it was gone.' The man, who still works as a panel beater and painter, said he had saved £2,000 every year all his working life. He appealed for the cash to be returned.
For years, he kept it under his bed but when his guard dog died he decided to keep it close by at all times. Disaster struck last Thursday when he put down the blue drawstring bag holding it to unlock his car. He added: ‘I’m gutted. I don’t hold out much hope of getting it back but if I do I will give a reward to whoever brings it back.’ Essex Police called for the cash to be handed in – and urged savers to keep their money in a bank.
