A couple are thrilled to have had a lost wedding returned after the Recorder launched an appeal last week.

Gary and Rita Ryan, of Upminster Bridge, were delighted to see Gary’s missing ring had been found as they read last week’s edition.

He said: “I am very happy and am so grateful to the person who found it. It was so kind of them to go to such lengths to return it to us.”

The couple had been to a friend’s barbecue the weekend the ring was lost after Gary’s finger was stung by a wasp. The next day his wedding ring was rubbing up against the sting so he took it off and put it in his pocket for safe keeping.

Rita said: “He is always taking his ring off when he does the washing up at home so I thought it was only a matter of time before he would lose it. I’m not really surprised that he did!”

Edie Davenport, 20, of St Mary’s Lane, Upminster, was the hero of the hour. Her grandmother, who is in her 60s, discovered the ring resting between two seats on a No 252 bus in Elm Park.

She said: “I am so happy that we’ve been able to find the owners. It’s a really great feeling knowing that we’ve helped return something as important as a wedding ring to them.”

Gary and Rita, who have been married for more than a decade, have matching white gold rings with their initials and the date of their wedding engraved inside the bands.

Rita said: “We are so happy we have got the ring back and would like to say thank you to Edie and her grandmother for bringing it back to us.”