Boy, 9, went door-to-door giving his parents’ savings away to strangers

Most children who want to donate money to a worthy cause carry out bake sales or non-school uniform days.

But a boy, 9, from Hesse, Germany, chose to give to others by simply handing out his parents’ life savings.

German police have been piecing together the actions of the schoolboy, who has not been named, after finding he had been sharing cash with strangers in the spa town of Bad Vilbel, near Frankfurt.

Officers were told the child had been going door-to-door, giving away €50 notes (£42.83) to residents, telling them he had found it on their property and wanted to give it back.

It is still unclear why the boy had been handing out the money, which he said he had found in a suitcase.

A police spokeswoman said the boy had been carrying a bag containing some €2,700 (£2,313) euros in cash — all of his parents’ savings.

He offered a note to anyone that opened the front door, police said.

Some willingly took it and gave the boy a small amount of money as a reward, but one resident became suspicious of his actions and informed the police.

The boy originally had not wanted to say where the money was from but officers tracked down his parents who later discovered their savings were missing.

Around €260 (£223) had gone, meaning the boy had apparently been successful in at least five cases of trying to give the cash away.

Police said they were still unsure about the boy’s motives and have appealed for residents to return any cash they had accepted.

A spokesperson added: ‘Of course, the family would be happy to get their savings back.’

The regional Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper reported on Monday that the missing money had still not been recovered.