WHEN Veronica Swinbourne lost her purse during a holiday flight to Cuba she thought it was lost forever.

But now, almost three months later, the black leather purse has turned up - after travelling halfway around the world.

And the contents , including £150 in cash, credit cards and her driving licence, were untouched.

Veronica, aged 43, who is communications manager for Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: "I can't believe I got the purse back."

The purse's travels began in November when Veronica boarded a flight from Manchester to Paris and on to Havana, Cuba, where she was taking a holiday with friends. When she reached Havana, she discovered her purse was missing.

It was, in fact, travelling back to Paris. Then it went on to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean where it was found by an Air Mauritius cleaner in an overhead luggage compartment.

The airline company then sent it by plane to the Mauritian Embassy in London which then posted it to her home in Daisy Hill, Westhoughton.

Veronica said: "I'm really grateful to the Air Mauritius staff.

"It was the first morning of my holiday when it went missing and I had to cancel all my cards, so I didn't have the best of starts. I'm just glad that I had my holiday money in a different purse."

"I came home from work one evening to find a message on my answer machine from someone in Mauritius. I telephoned him back and he said he would send it to London.

"When it got to London, they phoned me to check my address. I couldn't believe it still had everything in it, completely untouched."

HOME SAFELY: Veronica Swinburne with her much-travelled purse

WHEN Veronica Swinburne lost her purse during a holiday flight to Cuba she thought it was gone forever.

But now, almost three months later, the black leather purse has turned up -- after travelling halfway around the world.

And the contents, including £150 in cash, credit cards and her driving licence, were untouched.

Miss Swinburne, aged 43, who is communications manager for Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: "I can't believe I got the purse back."

The purse's travels began in November when Miss Swinburne boarded a flight from Manchester to Paris and on to Havana, Cuba, where she was taking a holiday with friends. When she reached Havana, she discovered her purse was missing.

It was, in fact, travelling back to Paris. Then it went on to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean where it was found by an Air Mauritius cleaner in an overhead luggage compartment.

The airline company then sent it by plane to the Mauritian Embassy in London which then posted it to her home in Daisy Hill, Westhoughton.

Miss Swinburne said: "I'm really grateful to the Air Mauritius staff.

"It was the first morning of my holiday when it went missing and I had to cancel all my cards, so I didn't have the best of starts. I'm just glad that I had my holiday money in a different purse."