Dutch cops have confirmed that hundreds of thousands of euros worth of cash that ended up scattered across the street is genuine but appealed to anybody who helped themselves to hand it in.

Police said that the money had been thrown down on to the street by a 43 year-old man shortly after he started a fire in a second-floor flat in the Dutch city of Den Bosch, capital of the province of North Brabant following the incident on Saturday night.

A 65-year-old woman who was in the property was injured when she jumped from the balcony shortly after the blaze was started.

An ambulance crew raised the alarm about the money when they were called to attend to the injured woman, who was not in a critical condition and noticed hundreds of thousands of euros scattered around the street.

According to local media, the cash was in bushes, under cars and even on roofs that were lower down.

They alerted the fire brigade, and dozens of officers turned up to gather the cash stuffing into several bin bags which were then handed over to police.

Police confirmed that fire crews had gathered the cash and that it was real money and not counterfeit.

Asked if it was possible money laundering operation, Dutch police spokesman told local media: “That is difficult to say at the moment and we are still verifying the source of the money.”

The 43-year-old man suspected of starting the blaze has been arrested and is currently in custody.

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