Woman hid £20k of stashed wages in stove, then accidentally lights the stove...

Hao Bin hid the money meant for her husband’s workers in a wood-burning stove, which she accidentally ignited the next day while making tea.

17:00 09 March 2015

A 35-year-old woman accidentally burned a stash totaling £20,000 meant for her husband’s workers when she ignited a wood-burning stove, forgetting that she hid the money there the previous day.

She only realised her mistake when she saw the plastic bag containing the money almost completely burned. Despite her desperate attempt to extinguish the blaze, it was too late for her to save the money.

Hao's husband, Wang, 39, said: "It was a hard blow, and my wife is devastated. But I have forgiven her, and we will survive.

"We had not been paid ourselves yet for our work, but I needed to pay the workers so we borrowed the money from friends and family, and we wanted somewhere to keep it safe for a day before paying it out."

Hao took the notes to the bank in central China’s Hunan province but was told that the banknote can no longer be exchanged for new ones.