A Heartsease woman has been reunited with a ring given to her by her childhood sweetheart three months after it went missing.
Tracey Barr's cherished sapphire and diamond engagement ring was lost on January 12.
Fearing it had gone missing while out and about 53-year-old Tracey, of Borrowdale Drive, retraced her steps to the three supermarkets she had visited that day in a bid to track it down.
Adding extra heartache to a devastating situation, January also marked five years since Tracey's late husband Stephen passed from a "one in a million" rare appendix cancer.
The Evening News' story of Tracey's plea for the ring's safe return was shared far and wide by readers.
But on Friday, April 8, Tracey was given the news she had been waiting for - her ring had been found by her daughter Sadie.
The circumstances had them both crying with joy and laughter.
"I heard her screaming, and thought she'd found a spider," Tracey explained. "All of a sudden she came running through the bedroom shaking her hands around screaming 'I've found it!'
"I had no idea what she was talking about.
"I couldn't see what she was holding because she was shaking and jumping around.
"When I realised she'd found my ring I burst into tears.
"She was cleaning the fridge out and it was under the salad draw.
"Now, thinking back, it must've slipped off my finger."
Delighted to have the ring back with her, she is determined that it will never leave her sight again.
Tracey said: "The ring is now firmly back on my finger and is not going anywhere any time soon.
"But it can be loose and definitely do not want a repeat of losing it, so I'm going to buy a chain and put it around my neck.
"It feels amazing to have it back. I can't believe it's been in the house for the last two months.
"It's a happy ending. Sadie knows how much the ring means to me. I've been bombarded with messages from friends and family - they can't believe it's been found."
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