Wallet hidden in a WALL for 35 years is found by builders with driving licence and trade union membership perfectly-preserved inside
Two builders were stunned to discover this battered wallet 35 years after it was lost with its contents perfectly preserved.
Richard Thompson, 26, and Tony Noi, 34, found the purse tucked inside a brick wall cavity while refurbishing a leisure centre in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
Inside they found a gym membership card which expired on March 31, 1978, a driving licence for a Mr Richard Lane and a trade union membership.
The wallet appears to have been lost in the wall in early 1978.
They also found a payment plan for a new television, with a final installment of £1 still due.
Despite an extensive search the builders have not been able to trace the original owner.
Mr Noi said: 'They are altering the roof up there and we were just up doing some wiring.
'A brick was taken out to thread some wire through and then we saw the wallet stuffed in there.
'I was surprised to find it in the wall to be honest, I don't know why somebody would put it down there.
'There was no money in it for anything, just a gym membership and a driving licence that expired before I was even born.
'There was a payment plan in there as well for a TV and I think the last payment was just a quid. That was probably a lot of money in those days though.'
Mr Thompson said: 'We hope that the owner can be reunited with their wallet as it contains personal belongings.'
A spokesman for Huntingdonshire District Council, which runs the leisure centre, said that they were unable to find Mr Lane on their system.
Richard Thompson, 26, and Tony Noi, 34, found the purse tucked inside a brick wall cavity while refurbishing a leisure centre in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
Inside they found a gym membership card which expired on March 31, 1978, a driving licence for a Mr Richard Lane and a trade union membership.
Lost: The brown leather wallet belonging to a Mr
Richard Lane which was found after 35 years inside a wall cavity in St
Ives, Cambridgeshire. The original owner has not been located
Lost in time: A membership card for the leisure
centre belonging to a 'Mr R M Lane' which expired in March 1978 that was
found in the wallet
Discovered: The out of date member card says on the back of it 'if found, returned (sic) to reception'
They also found a payment plan for a new television, with a final installment of £1 still due.
Despite an extensive search the builders have not been able to trace the original owner.
Find: Builder David Tweed, 45, with the wallet
at the spot where workmen found it while working on a £4million
redevelopment of the leisure centre
Building site: The Leisure centre in St Ives where the wallet was found as it undergoes a £4million redevelopment
Wallet: A paper driving licence belonging to
Richard Lane which was found inside the wallet. Despite being in the
wall for 35 years, it is still valid and contains details of a £20 fine
for an offence committed on August 8, 1975
Purchases: An invoice for items bought in Dixons in July 1977 for a total of £22.22
Invoice: A series of cash payments made for
goods in 1976 and 1977. The payments stop in September 1977, which is
presumably around the time the wallet was lost
Find: Documents discovered inside the wallet which was hidden within the cavity wall
Payment received: Another one of the documents
found. Despite the builders' best efforts, they have been unable to
trace the owner of the wallet
WHEN THE WALLET WENT MISSING: BRITAIN IN 1978
- World's first IVF baby Louise Brown was born in July
- The Who rocker Keith Moon dies aged 32
- Bee Geestop of the charts with Night Fever
- Rod Stewart was also number one with Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
- James Callaghan is Prime Minister but Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party are 11-points ahead in the polls
- Ipswich Town win the FA Cup after beating Arsenal 1-0
- Inflation hits a six-year low of 'just' 8.3 per cent
'A brick was taken out to thread some wire through and then we saw the wallet stuffed in there.
'I was surprised to find it in the wall to be honest, I don't know why somebody would put it down there.
'There was no money in it for anything, just a gym membership and a driving licence that expired before I was even born.
'There was a payment plan in there as well for a TV and I think the last payment was just a quid. That was probably a lot of money in those days though.'
Mr Thompson said: 'We hope that the owner can be reunited with their wallet as it contains personal belongings.'
A spokesman for Huntingdonshire District Council, which runs the leisure centre, said that they were unable to find Mr Lane on their system.
- Do you know Richard Lane? Call the newsdesk on 0203 615 1937
Lost: A library card for Huntingdon and Peterborough which was hidden inside the wallet
Paperwork: A trade union membership card belonging to Mr Lane for the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades
Union: Membership of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades which is no longer in existence
Discovery: The leisure centre where the missing wallet was discovered 35 years after the owner must have lost it