'Money sprinkler' mystery as residents left baffled by shredded bank notes appearing in East Lothian village

The chopped up cash, which appears to be a mix of £10 and £20 notes, has been found on multiple streets and green spaces in the area in recent months.

The mystery has been raised by several residents on a neighbourhood Facebook page, with some posting about their attempts to piece the notes back together.

One resident described her quest as the “best and worst jigsaw ever” after she collected pieces of at least five £20 notes, one £10 note and one £5 in the Dean Road area last month.

The cash has also been spotted in the Campbell Court and Kings Avenue area of the village.

From the pictures shared online, the notes appear to be mostly Bank of Scotland, but they also include several Bank of England notes.

Commenting on Facebook, one Longniddry resident said he discovered at least four English £20 and one Scottish £20 note, as well as one English £10.

He said the security features on the notes looked genuine, but thought the perpetrator may have deliberately cut through the serial numbers.

He posted again to say the “money sprinkler” had returned after he found four more shredded £20 notes on Dean Road on Monday.

Longniddry Community Council said one of its members had been reporting the strange trend for “months” but said the council did not have any insight into where the cash was coming from.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware it happens sporadically, occurring over a number of months. We do not know if it is real money but, if it is, we wish that whoever it is would give it to a worthwhile charity rather than chopping it up.”

Residents from other towns in East Lothian have also reported seeing similar notes. One North Berwick resident said she discovered shreds of cash near the Lodge around three months ago.

“I thought the council mower had gone over them,” she said. “I collected it all and the only bits missing was the serial number. There were at least five new notes all sliced up. How strange.”

Another reported seeing “bits flying around for days” at the River Esk in Musselburgh, and someone else said shreds had also been appearing at the children’s golf course in Gullane over the last year.

Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Bank of Scotland, said it was unable to comment.

Only three banks in Scotland, Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland, are authorised to issue their own banknotes.

Bank of Scotland issued a new polymer £5 in 2016, £10 in 2017, £20 in 2020. There is also a special edition £20 note, issued in early 2020 to commemorate the Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth.

Scottish and English banknotes contain several security features, including a see-through window, colour changing ink and a patch of holographic foil.

If you have damaged bank notes, you can return them to the issuing bank to be exchanged, provided you have at least half of the banknote and it includes a visible serial number.

Police Scotland has been approached for comment.