BUCHARET: Romanian newspapers reported that a Romanian family who hid Euro 40,000 in a pair of old shoes, then threw them away by mistake, has recovered the bulk of its savings.

Newspapers Evenimentul Zilei and Gandul reported today that a man from the city of Alba Iulia hid the savings in the shoes without telling his wife. The papers say the

wife cleaned house before Christmas and threw the shoes away.

The papers reported that the couple informed police, who discovered that a woman had found the shoes — and bought a Euro 22,000 cottage. The family recovered Euro 11,000 from the woman and Euro 19,000 from the people who sold the house. The woman who found the shoes will be investigated.