MONEY bound for worthwhile causes reached its intended destination – after taking a longer route than intended.

Chard Rotarian Tony Burkhardt was waiting for the rain to stop on a particularly miserable day before venturing out to hand-deliver an envelope containing £30 to the club’s treasurer, as both live in Combe St Nicholas.

The only writing visible on the outside of the envelope was the treasurer’s first name and the name of the person who had sent it – there was no address.

Mr Burkhardt’s well-meaning wife inadvertently put the envelope into the village post box, after picking it up with two other letters for mailing.

He said: “When I discovered this I rang the sorting office in Chard. They said that when it came through they would pick it out and send it back to me.

“I rang a week later when I hadn’t received anything and the lady told me it would probably be sent to Bristol and then to Belfast, so I thought that was the end of that.

“But she rang back and said it had been intercepted and was still at the Chard sorting office, so it wasn’t the end of it and the money was intact.

“We are so grateful to the Royal Mail staff for this. “They get such a slating for late deliveries and so on but they have really done well on this occasion and deserve to be praised.

“It’s a really positive thing they have done, because most importantly it means that money will now be used for something worthwhile, as it was intended.”