A Preston schoolgirl has learnt that honesty really is the best policy, after a good turn pocketed her £350.

Catherine Lonergan, 10, of Gaythorne Avenue, found the cash on the seat of a London Underground train. She was in the capital with her mother Angela, 48, for the Live 8 concert in July last year.

Catherine, a pupil at St Theresa's RC Primary School, and her mother chased after the man who had left the money but could not find him, so they handed the cash in expecting the man to return for it.

Three months down the line Catherine's parents phoned Transport for London (TfL), which runs the Underground, to be told that the man had not reclaimed the money.

"I was always of the understanding that if you handed in something and it was not claimed within three months it was yours," said Mrs Lonergan.

But bosses at TfL refused to hand over the money stating that unclaimed items were kept to help pay for the lost property office.

"It didn't seem right for London Undergound to be keeping it," she said.

"Although it had never entered our head to keep the money, to lose that amount of money is not a nice thing to happen. I'm surprised he did not claim it back."

Mrs Lonergan's husband Michael, 44, appealed to Preston MP Mark Hendrick for help and after his intervention TfL reversed their decision and gave the cash to Catherine.

Catherine said: "It's best to be honest and then get a reward afterwards."

She spent some of the money on a mobile phone and said the rest will go toward a family holiday.

Mrs Longeran praised teachers at Catherine's school for instilling strong morals in her daughter.

"I think she has learnt a valuable lesson," added Mrs Lonergan.

A TfL spokesman said the company felt the unclaimed money could be returned to Miss Lonergan as a gesture of goodwill.