Street cleaner who found Rolex in drain set for £60,000 pay day

A street cleaner who handed in a Rolex watch could be in for a £60,000 pay day after finding three more expensive watches in the same drain.

Father-of-two from the UK, Arron Large, was praised for his honesty after finding the £21,000 Rolex in a drain and handing it in to police, The Telegraph reported.

However, when he returned to the same spot where he made his discovery with a local television news crew to explain his story, he was amazed to find three more expensive watches – another Rolex, an Omega and a Franck Muller.

If the owners do not come forward within 30 days to claim their luxury watches, Large could pocket the value of all four timepieces – estimated to be around £60,000.

The watches were all found in drains opposite Chalkwell railway station, Essex.

Mr Large, 28, from Rayleigh, said: “I told my colleague you’re not going to believe me but I’ve found another one. He said ‘shut up’, but when I took it out and wiped it off I realised it really was another Rolex.

“Then I saw the other two. It’s quite amazing.”

Mr Large, who works as a street cleaner for a local council, added: “A few people have said no they wouldn’t hand it in, but at the end of the day I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Police are investigating whether the watches are linked to any previous thefts.

But the first watch Mr Large found, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph, has never been reported stolen.

The serial numbers of the other watches will now be checked against crime records.

PC Patrick Soontorn of Essex Police said: “To find one watch in a drain is one thing. To find three more within feet of one another is another, so that’s part of our investigation.

“It possibly could be a burglary or a robbery. Someone may have stashed it there and may have forgotten where they’ve thrown it.”