A BUS driver has been praised for his honesty after he found £5,000 cash in the street and took it to the police.

Phil Rayner a £170-a-week bus driver from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, was taking a lunch break when he saw what he thought were raffle tickets lying in the street in a packet.

He was hurrying back to work, so he pocketed the bundle and forgot about it.

The following day he remembered the envelope, and on close inspection realised they were notes and not raffle tickets inside the plastic packet.

Mr Rayner, 39, a father of three, went to the nearest police station and handed in the money.

Yesterday, Northumbria Police praised his actions and said he would be able to keep the money if no one claimed it within 28 days.

The exact amount of the money in the envelope is being kept a secret so that the owner can be identified as genuine if he or she comes comes forward.

Mr Rayner said: "You could have knocked me down with a feather. I have never seen so much cash in one go.

"I told my wife, Margaret, and my three lads what I had found, and I am proud to say that every one of them agreed with me that it should go to the police. I thought it might belong to some young lad who had been saving up to buy his first car, or it could belong to an old lady who has just lost her life savings."

Detective Sergeant Damien McEnroe, of Gateshead West CID, said: "It gives us a lot of encouragement to know that people are so honest and law- abiding. It was very public spirited of Mr Rayner to bring it in.