Pontardawe: Woman reunited with engagement ring lost in 1970

A woman was left speechless after a metal detectorist found the engagement ring she lost 54 years ago.

Marilyn Birch, 76, said she was feeding cows at her farm near Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, all those years ago when the ring slipped off her finger.

Her 80-year-old husband, Pete, who spent £18 on the ring in 1966, said they had given up looking for it.

Then a metal detectorist started exploring their farm for artefacts.

"We were always interested in what he had found," Marilyn said of the detectorist Keith Phillips, who is also from the area.

"By the third visit, we had got to know him a bit better," she explained. "So I said, 'listen now Keith, never mind all this rubbish you're finding, go and find my engagement ring'."

"About a week later, he came in and said, 'I think I've found your ring'," she said.

"I speak a lot. But I just couldn't speak. I just kept looking at it... It was amazing. Very emotional."

"[I'm] delighted, totally surprised," she added.

"It's a long time without an engagement ring that got lost in the hay."

"I never wore my engagement ring. For some reason, one Saturday morning, I put it on, decided to go and do some shopping, came home and fed some hay to the cattle," said Marilyn.

"I came in the house, washed my hands, and no ring... I was really upset. It meant a lot. It's a token, and that token had gone."

Pete said it was "a wonderful moment" and that the ring now fits Marilyn perfectly and will not fall off again.

"She was pleased - marvellous. As long as she's happy," said Pete.