The accidental discovery of €165,000 buried in the garden of a property near Bordeaux has reopened a murder investigation.

The booty was found by the new owner of the house who hit it with his spade when he was doing some seasonal planting.

Around twenty centimetres under the soil he uncovered a bag of damp and soiled notes in €50, €100 and €500 denominations.

However, his good fortune quickly turned sour when he tried to spend it.

In a hurry to celebrate, he dried off a single €100 note and went to the local supermarket to buy some suitable refreshment.

The poor condition of the note aroused the suspicions of the cashier, who summoned the security staff, who in turn called in the police.

The man was taken to the police station and questioned, where the authenticity of the note was verified and he was released.

However, in going through their records the police found that in 2006 there had been a murder at the property, when a 36 year old male had been gunned down. The murder remains unresolved to this day.

Police believe that the money may be connected with the murder, so decided to confiscate the cash pending the outcome of further enquiries.

If they are unable to trace where the money came from, then the cash will be returned to the owner of the property.

Under French law, the owner is entitled to keep the cash if no legitimate owner is found.

However, given the pace of police investigations in France, he may well have to wait a few years before he is able to do so, and in the meantime, he will not be getting any interest on it!