Scrap metal workers stumbled across a hoard of cash while they were opening up dumped metal safes ready to dispose of them.
The Sackers workers, based at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, were using mobile shears to open up four safes which appeared to have been left for years when they found about £20,000 in cash in one of them - the others were empty.
It's not uncommon to have safes come in for scrapping, said the company, but it is unusual for them to be filled with anything.
MORE - Southwold, Aldeburgh and Darsham bakeries sales expected to rocket to £2.5mThe £20,000 was made up of some legal tender and some old tender and had clearly been in there for many years as it was dusty and wet from being in the rain, Sackers said.
Yard Manager Kevin Harrington said: "We often get safes in and we tend to store them up as they are quite difficult to deal with. We had about eight in at the time when we started snipping them. We'd snipped up three before we found the money.
"It had been in there a long while, the money was very dusty and we didn't count it all but we guestimate that there was £20,000 in there but not all legal tender any more which shows how long it had been left for."
Sackers gave the money to police who were unable to track and identify the owner. As a result, it will be donated to charity.
Sackers, which was founded around 1920, sorts scrap metal at Great Blakenham and commercial waste at Needham Market. The business has grown significantly over the last few years and is able to recycle more than 90% of all waste that enters the premises.
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