THOUSANDS of pounds in cash has been reunited with its rightful owner after it was left on the back seat of a taxi.

A wallet containing £3,000 in notes was left in a Highfield cab after a driver had completed a pick-up in Tockholes.

However the driver didn’t notice that anything had been left behind by his customers and it wasn’t until they called the firm that he was made aware the money had gone missing.

By this stage, driver Imran Fatakiya had picked up and dropped off a further three passengers in Blackburn and Darwen.

Speaking about the drama, the firm’s owner Foxy Khan said: “Amazingly, the black wallet, containing all of the cash, was still in the back of Imran’s car.

“I was here at base when we received a phone call to say the customers we had collected from Tockholes had accidentally dropped £3,000 in the cab.

“They had been on their way to view a pony, that is why they had the money with them. I rang Imran and managed to get him to pull over and check to see if there was anything there.

“The fact he had completed another three journeys by that point and nobody had picked it up is the most amazing thing about all of this.”

Mr Khan, who has owned Highfield Taxis for 15 years, said he was pleased when he could ring up the rightful owners of the money to say the cash was still there safe and sound.

They then arranged for them to come into the office and collect the wallet.

He said: “We pride ourselves on being honest with all of my customers.

“If ever we find things in the taxis, which we do quite regularly, we’ll either track down the fare that left it or put an appeal out on our Facebook page for people to see and share.”

The firm’s social media pages have now been awash with praise for Mr Khan and his drivers after they posted a picture of the money being reunited with its owners. One user said: “Respect to the driver and firm. Some good is needed in times like this.”

Another added: “This is lovely to see I’m glad there was a happy ending.”