Man stashed £17,700 up his chimney… but the cash was burned to ashes when his wife lit a fire

An Italian who stashed €20,000 (£17,700) up his chimney saw his dreams go up in smoke after his wife lit a log fire.

Worried about burglars, he used the chimney as a hiding place in summer for the government-issued bonds.

In winter he would move them before the couple used the fireplace to heat the flat in Rome’s Monteverde district.

But this year he forgot before his wife unwittingly lit a fire for Christmas. He told Il Messaggero newspaper: ‘When I saw the flames I nearly passed out.’

An Italian man who stored €20,000 (£17,700) up his chimney saw his dreams go up in smoke after his wife lit a log fire. [File image]

He added: ‘I thought it would be a safe place where thieves would never think of looking.

‘My wife didn’t know I’d hidden them there.’

All is not lost, though. The man contacted his brother who works in the post office who told him that if he had kept the serial number of the bonds, it might be possible to reissue them.