Honest cabbies

If you left something on a train, a bus or a taxi you would probably never expect to see it again but you might be wrong.

Mohammad Asadujjaman turned down a reward after driving over 50 miles in search of Italian tourist who had left a handbag containing $21,000 in cash –and jewellery worth thousands more on the  backseat of his cab on Christmas Eve.

Felicia Lettieri's absentmindedness had briefly threatened to ruin the family's holiday because the bag, which she forgot while she and six other relatives were travelling in two taxis from midtown Manhattan to Penn station, also contained some of the group's passports.

This is not the only instance of a honest cabbie in New York.

Two years ago, the Grammy-nominated violinist Philippe Quint left his $4m Stradivarius in a New Jersey taxi after flying in to Newark airport at 3am.

Despite fearing that he would never see his 285-year-old ex-Kiesewetter violin again, Quint was eventually informed by the airport that the driver, Mohammed Khalil, had returned the precious instrument. To show his gratitude, Quint handed Khalil a $100 tip and free tickets to his next Carnegie Hall concert. He also gave a kerbside recital at the airport taxi rank to an audience of 50 cabbies.