A HOMELESS man who handed back a valuable diamond ring he found in his begging cup is to receive a £100,000 reward.
The money has been raised in a worldwide whip-round organised by the elated owner after she accidentally dropped her engagement ring into a dirty coffee cup held out by Billy Ray Harris.
The down-and-out, who has spent most of his adult years living in a cardboard box under a bridge in Kansas City, Missouri, said last night: “I had that little devil on my shoulder saying, ‘Keep the money’. The ring was so big I knew if it was real it had to be expensive.”
But he added: “My grandfather was a reverend and, thank the good Lord, it’s a blessing, but I do still have some character.”
The ring’s owner, Sarah Darling, had kept it in her purse since damaging her engagement finger, and inadvertently gave it to Mr Harris among her loose change.
After realising what had happened, she returned to his regular begging spot and asked if she had given him something precious by mistake. He replied: “Was it a ring? Yeah, I have it, I kept it for you.”
Ms Darling and her husband Bill Krejci then set up a fundraising page on giveforward.com.
They only expected to raise £500, but donors across the globe have pledged enough for Mr Harris to buy a three-bedroom house.
He will receive the money at the end of the 90-day campaign, which still has 70 days to go.
“I don’t deserve this,” Mr Harris said.
“What is the world coming to when a person returns something that doesn’t belong to him and all this happens?’”