A man from South Wales has had to employ the use of a wheelbarrow to transport loose change to his bank.
In an attempt to embrace contactless payments and a cashless society, 51-year old Randy Brewer from Penarth decided to cash in his spare coins with the local bank. Randy soon realised the scale of the project in hand. With countless containers of change from pubs, clubs and supermarkets located on any level surface in his two-bedroomed house, it was a task not for the faint-hearted.
“Coins everywhere,” said Randy, “I’ve always been one to flash the paper money when I go out – especially if I’m going ‘out out’. So I usually return home with a pocketful of coins which I deposit somewhere randomly in the house. I’ve used bowls, drawers, mugs – anything really. Not to mention inside the washing machine. I also had to go through all my coat pockets, jeans and hats. Then I remembered my van. There was a whole load of emergency money for car parking, pies and pasties and tips for random windscreen cleaners. It was quite a shock when I put the whole lot together in a bag and realised I couldn’t lift it.”
Together with friends, Randy soon filled up a wheelbarrow, and made his way to the only bank in Penarth with a free coin counting machine.
“Getting up the steps was a right bugger and once we started loading the machine, things went from bad to worse,” said Randy. “We started off OK but after the first £200, the machine started walking across the floor of the bank, and me and two tellers, an OAP and a guide dog had to hold the machine down. By the time the final £500 had been counted, we had smoke visible and it sounded like I’d chucked some spanners in for good measure.”
But Randy’s troubles were just starting, as the Police were called to explain how we was in possession of so much metal coinage. Once police arrived on scene, seeing the 51-year-old singleton with a potbelly and holes in his jeans, they decided there was no case to answer. PC Tennerson, who attended the scene said:
“It was pretty obvious Randy was an innocent, though sad and a rather lonely character rather than an international amusement arcade robber. Everyone at the station wishes him well, and hopes that he can get the hernia fixed quickly.”
A spokesman for the bank in Penarth said:
“It was great to see longstanding customer pay in his coins, and we are sure that the Royal Mint will be happy with the increase in stock as a result. For our other customers we expect the coin counting machine to be back working within a week or two, and the branch hopes to reopen once the smoke has cleared.”
