Man drives miles to reunite lost wallet with owner

A woman whose wallet was stolen at a motorway services hundreds of miles from her home said her faith in people had been restored after a man found it and drove to return it to her.

Ellyse Maynard, from Barlaston, Staffordshire, said she last saw the item while ordering at a McDonald's on the M5 in Somerset in February.

Paul Cotterill then spotted it weeks later in a Taunton layby.

On checking the wallet, he was amused to find its owner was local to him.

The courier driver, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, then decided he would call in at the address listed in the wallet on his way home, returning it to Ms Maynard last Wednesday.

She said while £30 in cash had been taken, all her bank cards were still inside, although she had cancelled them upon losing the wallet.

But, she added, she had put off ordering a new driving licence because of the cost of sorting a replacement.

She said the good deed had given her a "warm" feeling that made her appreciate "there are good people in the world".

Mr Cotterill said it was just chance he spotted the wallet while at a layby near Taunton Services.

He explained: "I just happened to see this wallet so I picked it up and I went through for some identification and found the driving licence."

When he realised the address on it was close to his own, he said "I just laughed" and decided to drive the wallet to Ms Maynard personally on his way home, instead of posting it.

Ms Maynard and her boyfriend offered Mr Cotterill a bottle of wine to say thank you, but he turned it down because he did not drink alcohol.

"It was lovely the way they reacted," he said."It makes you feel good inside."

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