House clearers do the right thing

House clearers found more than £70,000 worth of bonds in an empty home in the US - and handed the lot over to the rightful owners.

Leo Guarente was cleaning out the home of the Marie Veloso's late mother in Saugus, Massachusetts, when he came across 21 US savings bonds.

"All of a sudden, there was this envelope and I looked in it and it said thousand dollars bonds on it," he said.

Each of the 21 savings bonds cost $1,000 when they were bought in 1972 - but are now worth $114,000, reports CBS Local news.

Mr Guarente told Mrs Velosa that he had found something interesting in the house - but didn't go into details.

Instead, he surprised her on the doorstep with the news that she was suddenly a lot richer than she thought.

"I was nervous. I knew I was going to change this woman's life for the better," Mr Guarente said. "It warms my heart to know that I helped someone."

Mrs Velose could say only: "We're shocked - overwhelmed,", while her brother added: "It's Christmas come early."