A grandmother has been reunited with the precious war medals she lost in County Square thanks to two Ashford teenagers.

81-year-old Ivy Hitchen, of Hamstreet, thought she would never see the First World War family heirlooms again after losing them while out shopping on Monday.

But after an appeal in the Kentish Express, Mrs Hitchen received a call from County Square Shopping Centre to say two young ladies had found them.

Friends Samantha Beaney and Bethan Palmer, both 18, had discovered the valuable medals in a car park in the town centre.

Samantha said: “We knew what they were when we found them, but it was still quite a strange thing to find.

“We weren't too sure what to do with them so we though we would take them home for the night.

“The next day my gran saw the story in the paper so we came into town and handed them in.”

Mrs Hitchen had been carrying the medals in her bag because her grandson Andrew, 19, had given them back after borrowing them for a school project.

The pair had been shopping but when they got back to the car she realised she had misplaced them.

She said: “I didn't think I was going to see them again and I have been terribly upset about losing them, I felt very guilty.

“But now I am absolutely over the moon and I really can’t thank those two young girls enough.

“The medals have been in the family for many years.

"They belonged to my very brave great uncle, Arthur Chapman, who was killed in the war when he was 23.

“I am so pleased I've got them back, I can’t believe it really.

“I am so grateful to everyone who helped me get them back, especially those two lovely girls.”