Will your town be next? Mystery businessman, 25, sparks mass treasure hunt by stashing £50 envelopes across Britain in Hidden Cash Twitter craze
- Viral 'social experiment' began in U.S. and has spread around the world
- British man has now hidden money in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton
- Some of the winners have already donated their money to charities
- It is claimed he could stash as much as £200 in London tomorrow
- But odds of finding it are slim - he already has more than 40,000 followers
Hiding cash in a brown envelope was once the preserve of spies, but a lot has changed in the age of Twitter.
A mystery businessman has sparked a frenzied treasure hunt by stashing £50 wads in cities across Britain - and revealing their locations on the social networking site.
In less than a week, the 25-year-old's 'anonymous social experiment' has gained more than 40,000 followers, many of whom are eagerly awaiting the next drop.
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Jackpot! A mystery benefactor is hiding envelopes filled with £50 each across Britain in a mass treasure hunt
Winner: Twitter user @Leviaxxan, who found the money with a friend in Sheffield, shared the haul between The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon and the Sheffield Rape Crisis counselling service for women
The mystery benefactor told the Daily Telegraph he may make a special delivery tomorrow to London - but with the package containing up to £200, the hunt could turn into a frenzied scramble.
'I have had a few businesses in e-commerce that have done really well for me,' he said. 'It got to a point where there is only so much stuff that money can buy... I get more of a kick out of that than I would spending £50 on myself.
'I have to travel abroad but I’ve called on a group of people to keep it going for me. It will be a little more infrequent but I don’t have any plans to stop.
'There isn’t a limit on how much I’m going to give away. As long as there’s interest in it, I’ll keep doing it.'
He added that he was confident George Groves would win tonight's boxing match against Carl Froch, but would hide £200 in the capital if he lost.
Brilliant! The latest envelope (pictured) was found in a boat in Brighton today and Linisha Kapur (right) found the stash in Manchester. The donor said he had run out of things to spend his money on, so gave it away
The craze began in the U.S. and sparked frenzied scenes in Los Angeles on Thursday night as hundreds of people scoured garden beds and bus stops and caused traffic chaos.
It has spread across the world, with accounts springing up in Nigeria, India, Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
The first envelope in Britain was stashed outside the city museum in Leeds on Wednesday and was found less than an hour later by electrician Harry McKeown.
Then came Manchester on Thursday, Sheffield on Friday and a beachside spot in Brighton today.
With the media getting in on the act, a local news crew even captured the moment the Brighton envelope was found inside an old boat.
Twitter user @Cpt_Volvox - calling herself Morris Minor - said she had been bored and flicking through Facebook on her phone when she realised the envelope was just around the corner.
#payitforward: Today's drop of cash was in Brighton, West Sussex - and London could follow tomorrow
What a nice surprise: The message written on the back of one of the envelopes hidden across Britain
Nondescript: Cash in brown envelopes was once the preserve of spies, but things change in the Twitter age
Those who find the money are asked to Tweet a photo of their haul back to the account @HiddenCash_UK with the hashtag #payitforward.
Some have already donated their stashes to charity.
The Sheffield haul was shared between The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon, and the Sheffield Rape Crisis counselling service.
The U.S. founder of the craze, who has amassed some 400,000 Twitter followers, had to issue a safety notice amid fears the scramble was getting out of hand.
'Please walk and drive safely. A young woman ran right in front of my car a few days ago. I will do my best to pick locations that are safe, but please use common sense and caution,' the donor wrote.
Inundated: Hundreds of people swarmed the area around the Empire Center in Burbank, Los Angeles on Thursday night in search of hidden money, after a mystery benefactor dropped some location clues on Twitter
'Please also be respectful to the locations themselves and surrounding businesses. And be kind and happy with each other, as that's what this is all about.'
But the unknown donor also tweeted that he or she 'had no plans to stop' and wanted to 'keep getting bigger and better'.
The donor added: 'The bigger idea is just to give back, both financially and a sense of fun to the community that has made me wealthy.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2644871/Will-town-Mystery-businessman-25-sparks-mass-treasure-hunt-stashing-50-envelopes-Britain-Hidden-Cash-Twitter-craze.html#ixzz33KazcliI
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