Pensioner 'afraid of thieves' throws out old mattress - but it had £41,000 life savings in it

A pensioner was distraught when she threw out an old - only to remember after it had been taken away she had stuffed £41,000 of life savings in it.

The woman in her 80s had cut open the mattress and stuffed €50,000 (£41,500) in cash inside it before sewing it up again because she is "afraid of thieves" and distrusts banks.

She despaired at her mistake and called , who said she was "rather distraught" at the situation. However, officers in local officials in Montebelluna, northern , rallied to help her and located the mattress at a tip. To the pensioner's surprise, all the money was still inside.

A police official said today: "She was overjoyed. She looked ten years younger when she got the news." The source had said the woman "was rather distraught when she rang" after realising her error.

READ MORE:

The case echoes that of a grandmother in California, US, who . Vicky discovered the wads of cash inside one of the cushions after finding the set of sofas during a hunt for furniture to fill her new home,

Umodo was delighted to find the money in 2022. She said: "I scrolled down and saw free items. So, I clicked on it, and the first thing I came up with was this family that wanted to give a sofa, and everything in their bedroom set. I said maybe it's a gimmick, so I called them."

It was true - unaware of the furniture's concealed cargo of cash, the sellers were giving the sofas away for free following the death of a loved one and the clearing out of their house. The gran continued: "I just moved in, and I don't have anything in my house. I was so excited, so we picked it up and brought it in." She soon made the incredible discovery after noticing something was odd with her cushion.