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And now, a story with a happy ending. A new Strathclyde University graduate, about to be photographed after the ceremony by her proud parents, gave her handbag to her brother. The brother, refusing to be seen holding a handbag, promptly deposited it on the roof of a nearby car, which was then driven off by physics professor Brian Henderson. Professor Henderson conducted the bag through the hilly city centre, five sets of traffic lights, and on to the motorway. An overtaking lorry forced him to brake sharply, whereupon the handbag fell on to the bonnet.

Resisting the temptations of the Pounds 400 and Versace, Armani and Paul Costello credit cards, he tried to ring university security but the line was engaged because the graduate was telling them that she had also lost her parents' return air tickets to Ireland.

She and her handbag have now been reunited, and Professor Henderson has acquired a magnum of Veuve Cliquot.