Students Discover $40,000 In Second-Hand Sofa

Three students found more than $40,000 (£23,900) in cash inside a second-hand sofa they had bought for $20 from a charity shop - and returned it to the elderly widow who stashed it there.

The housemates in upstate New York discovered the money in envelopes hidden in the couch they had picked up from the Salvation Army in March.

The 91-year-old woman's relatives had donated the old settee to the thrift store without her knowledge.

Reese Werkhoven, Cally Guasti and Lara Russo said they initially could not believe their luck at the unexpected windfall, reports the Little Rebellion, a student-run news blog at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

But after finding a woman's name on an envelope and debating what to do, they decided to make contact with her and return her small fortune the next day.

Ms Guasti told the Little Rebellion: "When we handed the money back to the woman, she told us that she felt like her (late) husband was present in the room with us."

The widow, who wishes to remain anonymous, reportedly gave them a $1,000 reward.