A thief who robbed £200 from a Derry woman's bank account has cleared his conscience and handed the money into the Journal office.
The man came forward on Wednesday following an article in Tuesday's Journal when the woman appealed for him to do the "decent thing" and give her back the cash.
A friend acting on the thief's behalf rang the 'Journal' saying the man "felt really b
ad" and would hand the money over to the newspaper.
Next morning 'Journal' receptionist Cathy McCafferty discovered an envelope in the office post box containing the £200 cash, a good luck card and a letter of apology.
The letter stated: "To whom it may concern. Sorry for the trouble I cos't (sic) I'm very embarassed (sic) over the situation I hope you can accept this apology. I know this will never happen again. Yours Sincerely."
The Journal has now returned the money to the woman, who was recently made redundant and said she was "gobsmacked."
'Restored faith'"This act has restored my faith in human nature," she said. "Fair play to this man for coming forward and doing the right thing.
"I believe in karma and I believe that by doing this good thing, something good will happen to him as well.
"It's good to know that reading the story struck a chord with him and pushed him to come forward.
"The money will be going to a good cause - and it will be put towards taking my dad away for his 60th birthday."
The woman's money was taken on Friday night when she accidentally left her card in an ATM machine on Shipquay Street.
She explained how she'd asked for a mini statement at the machine and walked away leaving her card in when she became distracted.
She told the 'Journal' how if the decent thing was done and the money was returned she would not take the matter further.
