A builder has uncovered over £47,000 worth of cash hidden within the walls of his new house.

Builder Toño Piñeiro was doing construction work on a house he bought in Lugo, northwestern Spain, when he found the money stuffed into Nesquik cans and hidden in the walls.

He found 6 cans, with cash inside worth around £47,500, reports the Mirror.

The cash was Spanish pesetas, which ceased to be legal tender in 2002 when the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union, was adopted as the country’s currency.

When Mr Piñeiro tried cashing in the money he discovered that some of the notes were so old he could no longer exchange them for euros.

The man was told that he had missed the deadline as the Bank of Spain stopped accepting the older notes, so they turned out to be worthless.

But Mr Piñeiro still managed to get himself £30,000 after trading in some more up-to-date currency from his finding.

Speaking of what he used the money for, he said: “It paid for a new roof.

“I guess they kept these containers to avoid humidity. The last ones were somewhat damaged, but the others weren’t – they were ironed, it was incredible.”

 

Toño explained the home had been abandoned for four decades prior to the discovery, with the builder snapping up the property when he saw it listed on Facebook.

He added he plans to keep some of the out-of-date cash as a souvenir.