Heartwarming footage shows the priceless reaction of a 94-year-old woman after finding a surprise ‘money chain’ hidden in her birthday cake.

Salvacion Samenada was delighted as she pulled out a string of 20 peso bills (40 cents USD) from a cake made from cupcakes in Camarines Sur province, the Philippines on April 4.

The grateful old woman then became teary-eyed while laughing with her granddaughters who prepared the emotional surprise for her.

One of her granddaughters, Athena Nario, 27, said they wanted to buy a proper cake for her but they live far from the market and the Covid-19 restrictions prevented them from travelling. Instead, they piled up cupcakes from a nearby shop, put a handwritten note on top and tucked 15 notes inside, giving a total value of six dollars.

Athena said: ‘We wanted to make our grandma’s birthday memorable but we live far from the market. My cousins and I thought of making the simple cake and putting money inside would be a nice surprise for her.’

Athena added that her grandmother does not have a birth certificate so they don’t know exactly when her birthday was. She said that throughout most of her grandmother’s life, six dollars would have been a ‘small fortune’.

She said: ‘My grandmother was born when the Japanese were still here. She doesn’t have a birth certificate but we always celebrated it on April 4 as that’s when we think it was.

‘Despite her old age our beloved grandmother has remained healthy although sometimes she has difficulty walking and remembering things now.

‘We would have added more money to the cake but our livelihood was affected by the pandemic. We were so happy when we saw her reaction.’