THE search is on to find a taxi driver robbed of more than £100 – after the customer returned the money the next day to the wrong cab company.
After what is believed to have been a drunken, rash act, the remorseful man sent two of his friends to the Holmesdale Road booking office of Belfry Cars, in Reigate, fully believing he had stolen £110 from one of their drivers.
But after a call was made for the victim to come forward, no one did.
Now the taxi firm is eager to reunite driver and takings.
"The money's there and we're happy to keep hold of it," said Jamie Punnington, general manager of Belfry Cars.
"We said we'd keep it for a month and if nothing happens we'll donate it to Help for Heroes. But if we can return it, that would be the ideal thing."
The incident is said to have taken place on the night of Thursday, March 28, when the man got into a car outside JJ Whispers.
When he arrived at his destination, rather than paying his fare, he grabbed money off the driver and fled.
The next morning, after realising what he had done, he gave the money to his friends to return to the company he was sure had picked him up.
Mr Punnington said he and everyone at Belfry Cars had been shocked the money had been returned, but after contacting the council about the incident, and the police, neither could find a report of the incident.
"His friends said when he woke up the next morning he felt bad and wanted to make it good," Mr Punnington added. "They came in on the Friday afternoon and said 'our mate took this from one of your drivers and he feels bad'.
"We've informed the council and police about it but nothing's come through, so it looks like the driver hasn't reported it.
"Everyone's really impressed that he's shown remorse.
"Everyone's surprised because we've never heard of it before, that someone would try and put this kind of thing right. Especially when we didn't know anything was wrong in the first place. The guy honestly believed it was one of our cars."
Do you know who the driver is? Call 01737 783873 or e-mail editor@surreymirror.co.uk
