After five years, police find out who was leaving bundles of cash in village
Written by News on 13/01/2020
Detectives have solved a five-year mystery after two “good Samaritans” came forward to reveal they had been the ones leaving bundles of money for people in a former mining village.
Thirteen bundles of £2,000 has been left in random locations in Blackhall Colliery in County Durham since 2014.
Durham Constabulary went public last year to try and solve the mystery and now, less than a fortnight after Sky News featured the mystery on New Year’s Day, two people have come forward to the force to confirm they have been leaving the money to help people living in the village.
The generous pair want to remain anonymous but told police they wanted to “give something back” because one of them has an “emotional connection” to Blackhall Colliery.
Their repeated visits to the village have seen lucky residents find a total of £26,000.
Police confirmed that sometimes the pair had left the money in places where pensioners or people in need were likely to find it and occasionally they would wait around to check that the money had been picked up.
Villagers had nicknamed the person or people behind it as the “Blackhall Santa”, but the people who have come forward to the police say they don’t want any thanks for their money.
Detective Constable John Forster 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 or a vulnerable person.
“I would like to thank the good Samaritans for getting in touch and also to the honest residents of Blackhall who have continued to hand the money in.
“We would encourage anyone who may find another bundle to continue to hand it in.”
The police said they don’t know if the pair will continue to leave money in the future but encouraged anyone who finds any to hand it into the police who will return it to the finder if it isn’t claimed by somebody else within two weeks.
(c) Sky News 2020: After five years, police find out who was leaving bundles of cash in village
