Chesterfield couple thank Derbyshire waste centre staff who found lost safe of valuables

Mental health nurses Matt and Nicole Tacey, 33 and 34, were in the final stages of moving house from Wingerworth to Walton on Friday, November 24, and had kept the safe to one side to take in the last car trip to their new home.

Matt said: “Because it contained valuables, and some really sentimental items that had been passed down through the generations, we said we’d be responsible for it rather than the removal men – unfortunately once we’d finished with all the cleaning, we forgot.

“On Sunday morning my wife had a sudden lightbulb moment and asked if I’d picked the safe up. That’s when we realised. We contacted the people who’d bought the old house and they said they thought it was scrap and had taken it to Bolsover recycling centre the night before.”

He added: “My immediate thought was that it had gone, we’d lost it. Nicole was distraught, I’d never seen her so upset and desperate and I would have done anything to change that, so I swung into action.”

While some of the safe’s contents, such as passports, would have been replaceable, it also contained jewellery left by late relatives and a flag retrieved from the bombing of Pearl Harbour which had belonged to a member of Nicole’s family who served in the US military.

Matt said: “By the time I got to the recycling centre I was ready to jump into the skip myself but as soon as I spoke to the manager and explained what had happened they were really wonderful about it. They didn’t think twice about it.

“There were four men digging through the container with the crane for about 20 minutes and we still couldn’t find it, then luckily one of the workers spotted it stuck down the gap in between the containers. It must have fallen out when stuff was being crushed and carried away.”

The safe had been damaged to the extent that the electronic pin code no longer opened it, so the recycling centre team got to work with a mechanical digger to pry the door open. Thankfully, everything of real value inside it was in tact.

Matt said: “The sense of relief was overwhelming and I rang Nicole straight away to tell her we’d got it. We were incredibly fortunate.

“The guys at the recycling centre didn’t have to authorise the search, or take the time to help us, but that 20 minutes of kindness has ensured those invaluable sentimental treasures remain with us. We just want to say a massive thank you, they’ve made a significant difference by such kindness. – and acts of kindness ought to be celebrated.”

He added: “I’ve got a new safe on order, and if we ever move again that will be the first thing I take in the car.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We were pleased to hear that the employees at the Bolsover centre were so helpful. We often get similar comments in from the public about how much they appreciate the help they get at all our centres.”

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