UK man gets repayment of £5 loan — after four decades

LONDON: A British man who had lent a penniless Australian tourist £5 in 1969 has received his money back... after 39 years.

Jim Webb, from Sheffield, was paid £200, five pounds for every year that had gone by.

A card and the money were hand-delivered to the 72-year-old Webb's home by Gary Fenton to repay money he had borrowed when they met in Ostend, Belgium, the BBC reported.

A note inside read: "To Jim Webb, a good man. From Gary Fenton, a tardy payer of debts."

Webb and a friend were travelling around Europe in April 1969 when they met the Australian traveller, then in his early 20s, at a ferry port in Ostend.

"A young man came up to us and said he hadn't got enough money to get back to England and would we lend him £5 and he'd repay us as soon as he could afford it," Webb said.

The three travelled back to England and when they parted Fenton took Webb's address, but Webb never heard from him.

Webb, who was not at home when Fenton paid the visit, said he was quite emotional when he read the note. "In this day and age promises are made and promises are broken and you lose your faith in human nature. This was a lovely gesture. Forty years is a long time — it must have been preying on his mind that he hadn't repaid his debt."

Fenton, who now lives in Sydney, had explained in his note that he had come across the Briton's address while looking through old papers.

Webb said he would give the 200 pounds to charity and hopes to get in touch with Fenton again.