A well-known Burnham-On-Sea resident has travelled more than 250 miles to hand a lost handbag to its owner after finding it on a train.
Former Burnham Mayor Peter Burridge-Clayton was travelling home with his family from Didcot Parkway last week, after a day out at a steam show, when the handbag was spotted lying under a train seat.
Peter, who is a county councillor, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We left it for a while in case the owner returned, but when no-one came back after several stops, we decided to take a look inside.”
“There were a lot of valuables, such as a purse, several bank cards and a driving licence inside, so clearly it had to be returned to its owner, who we imagined would be pretty worried.”
“We found the address of the owner on one document and when we got back to Burnham we tried contacting her by telephone, but couldn’t because the number was ex-directory.”
“We considered posting the handbag and sending it by special delivery, but that wouldn’t have been 100 per cent safe.”
“So, after some discussion, we decided to visit Legoland the next day, near where the bag’s owner, Alison Woods, lives and personally hand the bag to its owner.”
Peter added: “We turned up unannounced, but fortunately Alison was home and she was incredibly grateful that we’d returned it. She’s also sent through a hamper to us as a thank you!”
Mrs Woods told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I never thought I would see the bag or its contents back again, so it was a wonderful surprise to have it all returned.”
“I was particularly concerned because there were photos of my kids in the purse which are irreplaceable.”
“When you hear so much depressing news in the world today, it does warm your heart to know there are people like this out there.”
Our photo shows Peter Burridge-Clayton holding the hamper his family received after reuniting Mrs Woods with her lost handbag – and a map showing the route of their 250-mile round trip
