£100 reward offered for hat sold at car boot for £2

A reward of £100 has been offered for the safe return of a designer hat which was accidentally sold for £2 at a car boot sale.

Owner Eileen Lam, from Ipswich, Suffolk, said she briefly took off the hat and placed it on the floor while visiting the sale in Marks Tey, Essex.

But when she took a phone call, someone picked up the hat, took it to a nearby stall holder - and promptly bought it for £2.

"It's old now and faded, but I love it," Ms Lam told the BBC, adding that the colourful hat held sentimental value.

Ms Lam, who regularly attended the boot sale, said she had returned every week since the hat was sold on 21 August, and had put up posters appealing for help.

The hat, which was made by Italian designer Missoni, was given to her by her children.

"I know it's ridiculous - I felt guilty for being so attached to a hat," Ms Lam said, adding that she accepted it had been sold by mistake.

"The people at the boot sale have been so good, they've stuck [posters] up on their vans."

Ms Lam says the hat features in many of her reels on Instagram, where her Dolly Treasures account has three quarters of a million followers.

She says she has offered a reward of £100 but has still not had any joy tracking down the buyer.

“It's an old hat now so they wouldn't get £100 for it, so I'm willing to pay as it just means something to me," Ms Lam added.

The BBC has approached the organisers of the Marks Tey boot sale for comment.

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