Man accidentally throws away jewellery worth £33,000

A husband in Caloundra, Australia has accidentally binned AU$50,000 (£33,000 / US$53,000) worth of jewellery.

The jewellery, belonging to his wife, was uninsured and included gold charm bracelets and gold bars, reports The Courier Mail.

The incident happened after the man, only identified by his first name Geoffrey, split the valuables into three bin bags over fears that his house could be targeted by robbers.

"We [were] moving house, and I told the kids to give me any garbage lying around for me to throw out," he explained.

Geoffrey, realising that he had thrown away the jewellery, then contacted the local council to ask if they could retrieve the items. However, the Sunshine Coast Regional Council admitted that the chances of success would be extremely slim.

A spokesman said: "Caloundra landfill receives approximately 1,400 tonnes of waste per week.

"While council sympathises with the owners... unfortunately any attempts to search for the lost items would be extremely difficult and would pose serious safety risks."

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