A LOST purse containing a wad of cash has been recovered by its owner after it was handed in to Cwmbran Police Station by two teenagers who found it lying on the floor.

Ryan Smart, 14, and Connor Salter, 13, of Coed Eva, were walking back from doing their Christmas shopping in the town centre when they found the purse near shops in St Dials.

Rather than pocketing the money, they walked back into the town centre to drop it off at the police station, but did not leave their names.

The wallet contained more than £100 and the Fairwater High pupils were soaked by the time they returned from their walk, said Connor’s mum Samantha Williams.

“I posted about it on Facebook in the hope that people could share it,” said Mrs Williams, 42. “It goes to show you shouldn’t tar all teenagers. They came back looking like drowned rats.”

Connor had been saving 50p from his daily dinner money in order to buy Christmas presents, said Mrs Williams, who is a fundraiser for Cancer Research.

“I told him ‘I am really proud of you’ because even adults wouldn’t have handed it in,” said the mum of four. “They have done the right thing.”

Ryan’s mum Deb said her son was quite quiet normally, but was conscientious.

“I am pretty proud,” said Mrs Smart, 34.

“When he came home, he said ‘sorry I’m late. I found a purse, I went and handed it in to police’.

“I told him he’d probably saved someone’s Christmas and he didn’t realise. If that was me, I’d probably be in tears. I showed him that it had been posted on Facebook and he said it was quite embarrassing.”

The purse owner’s husband posted on Facebook to say the purse has now been recovered from the police station and to thank the two boys for handing it in.