A GRATEFUL man has thanked Thurrock Council cemeteries operative Tim Stock after he found and returned his wedding ring which had fallen off when he was visiting the burial site of a loved one in Chadwell Cemetery.

After fruitlessly searching all around the memorial the distraught man, who once lived in Thurrock but now lives in Southampton, thought that he had lost his wedding ring of 48 years for good. However, Tim scoured the area and was able to find the ring, get in touch with the man who was staying in a nearby hotel and reunite them.

Cabinet member for environment, Cllr Andrew Jefferies, said: "I can only imagine how relieved this man was to get his precious wedding ring back after losing it like that.

"I would like to add my thanks for Tim and the team, they truly went the extra mile to make sure that the ring was quickly found and reunited with its owner. Their actions took what was shaping up to be a terrible situation and instead gave it a wonderful ending."