By Amber Ghei
The saying goes, “finders keepers, losers weepers”, but this wasn’t the case for 19-year-old Manchester Met student Ella Gilman, who was surprised to find a substantial amount of cash tucked inside an envelope in a pair of shoes she had purchased from eBay.
After finding the cash, the Events Management student reached out to the Brighton-based eBay seller, who she originally bought the trainers from, to return it. Within 25 minutes of contacting the woman, Ella promptly transferred the money into the legitimate owner’s account.
Ella says that she initially “thought that the paper was there to prevent the trainers from creasing”. However on further inspection, Ella found an envelope containing £1,000.
Ella explained how she was in shock and was unsure of how to go about returning the money, adding: “I am a strong believer of karma and being honest.”
Laura Hazeldine, who sold the trainers to Ella, says she had hidden the money in the trainers to secure the money from being stolen in the house for safe-keeping purposes. To her dismay, she failed to remember where she placed the money, which resulted in it being accidentally posted to Ella.
Hazeldine told the Manchester Evening News that she was “blown away” by the sheer honesty of the student and that she wishes to publicly thank her for her kind efforts. Hazeldine went on to praise Ella, commenting that Ella’s actions have “restored her faith in humanity”.
Ella said: “Laura was extremely emotional and pleased that I had returned the money. It was a nice feeling to see someone genuinely happy.”
Once the incident was solved, Ella received a full refund of the trainers and was sent £60 in ASOS vouchers.
Ella added: “It was an all-round good day for both parties involved!”
Featured image and gallery: Sam Holmes From Mirfield to Manchester, this Yorkshire-born four-piece bring their funk-interwoven indie rock to a sold-out Gorilla for their biggest headline show to date. Fresh off the back of their new single ‘Watch Life Burn’ and signing their first record deal with This Feeling/ LAB Records, there is already a…
Featured image and photography: Aaron Parsons / Press Haiden Henderson isn’t a name known to many in Manchester, but the Californian rockstar certainly made sure to leave a lasting impression. With sensual and sexy songs, Henderson really knows how to heat up a crowd in more ways than one. Unreleased track ‘Freak For You’ sets a…
Feature image: Press The Manchester Film Festival has wrapped its 12th edition, running over 11 days and showcasing a strong line-up of local and international talent from across the independent film industry. Festival director Neil Jeram-Croft reflected on this year’s programme, filled with a mix of features, shorts and documentaries spanning the cities’ cinema hotspots:…
Featured image: Press Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester for their ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour. Following their hugely successful 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album, Reggae Got Soul. Fronted for decades by Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert – named by Rolling Stone…
1 Comment
Great uplifting story. So heart warming to know that there’s some decent people out there in this world