A lucky couple were left gobsmacked when they opened a tin of paint found in the cellar of their home, only to discover something they were not expecting at all13:27, 28 Jul 2026What would you do if you realised there was a bricked-up part of your cellar that you'd never been in before? And more than that, what would you do if you knocked through to it and realised it held items that had been left untouched for years?‌It sounds like the start of a horror film. But that was the reality for a Sheffield couple, who were left gobsmacked when they found bags of coal and a rusty tin of paint that they were too scared to open. The objects stank of ammonia, so they left them alone for a few months.‌But during the Covid lockdown, Luisa and her partner, Dan, decided to open the tin of paint with their kids to see if there was actually anything inside, and they got way more than they bargained for.‌A TikTok posted on their account @scruffyandsorted captured the moment the family prised open the rusty, damp tin, and it was dramatic.Over the top of the video, Luisa wrote, "The cellar really said treat yourself," as she revealed the paint tin contained a meticulously wrapped bag of cash.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌The family hit the jackpot – because the money they found dated back to 1970 and totalled over £1,000 in £5 notes.Luisa joked it was "buried treasure". And before they headed to the bank to cash it in, the family decided to have a game of Monopoly with their unexpected windfall.The mum was over the moon – and told Newsweek they "couldn't have found it at a better time," given she was temporarily out of work during the pandemic.‌"It was nice to treat the kids a bit and catch up on any bills - it took some stress off us for a few weeks," she explained.In the comments, one user suggested she could have pocketed far more than a fiver for each note, especially given their excellent condition.Someone wrote: "They're probably worth a lot because they're pristine". A second chimed in: "Sell them or put them to auction; don't exchange at a bank!!!! You will get a fair bit more!!"‌It was at that point Luisa clarified that they "needed the money" during Covid, so they simply took the notes straight to the bank.A third user quipped that their own cellar search hadn't proved quite so fruitful, joking: "All we found in our new cellar were rat and squirrel skulls".A fourth TikToker suggested it was "the old landlord's secret stash," prompting Luisa to jest that she hoped they were watching now.Article continues below"If the previous owner had put that in a savings account, it would be about £16,000 today," another user pointedly noted.