An Ashford jewellery shop owner says she has still not seen a penny from the police after officers admitted "losing" £38,000 of gold they took from her shop as evidence three years ago.

Jill Archer, 54, owner of high street shop Gold Mine, said she fears the stress of trying to get her money back has even caused her to have "mini-stroke".

Officers took the tray of gold from her now-defunct Sittingbourne shop in 2013 in connection with an alleged theft.

But despite police admitting liability for the missing tray and drafting in claims handlers Gallagher and Bassett to deal with the claim – three years later, the married mum-of-one still hasn’t seen a penny.

Mrs Archer says she has had to sell her house, her car and much of the family’s property to keep her remaining Ashford business afloat.

But she said she feels she’s fighting a losing battle.

She said: “The police promised to compensate me but they have done nothing about it.

“I have had to photocopy evidence numerous times but their loss adjusters keep putting up barriers saying I haven’t done things, when I categorically have.

“All this stress seems to be taking its toll. How am I supposed to stock my shop with no money?

“The police have admitted they lost the tray so why is this taking so long? It’s really getting beyond a joke.”

Mrs Archer, who lives in Park Farm with her husband Fred and their 13-year-old daughter, is now seeking advice from an independent advisor.

She added: I have worked hard for years to make my businesses a success and I’ve done everything I can to keep the Ashford shop afloat.

“I have had to sell my home, I have had to move house, my 13-year-old daughter had to move schools, I had to sell her horses.

“So if the police, or Gallagher and Bassett don’t do something quickly, I’ll soon be signing on because there is no more money to put into the business.”

A police spokesman said: “Photocopies of relevant paperwork were taken at Sittingbourne Police Station and are currently being processed by Kent Police’s insurance company’s claims handlers.”

Kent Police confirmed the tray of gold had been lost while in their care and said an internal investigation was launched shortly afterwards.

A spokesman said: “We investigated this complaint and have taken full responsibility for the loss of Mrs Archer’s property from our Sittingbourne property store.

“The financial claim concerning her loss is being dealt with by the force’s insurers in conjunction with our Legal Services department and compensation will be paid following her provision of documentation confirming the value of the items lost.

“This is required for all claims when financial settlements are concerned.

“No other items went missing from the Sittingbourne property store in the same time period.

“While incidents such as these are extremely rare, the public has the right to expect that any items seized by Kent Police will be kept securely and returned to them if and when appropriate during the course of an investigation.

“We regret the distress caused to Mrs Archer and have undertaken a thorough review of the security measures in our property stores across the county.

“As a result of this review, security has been upgraded in all of our property stores.

“The investigation established an officer involved in the original fraud investigation failed to properly examine the items when the items in question were booked into the property store.

“There is no evidence or suggestion that this officer, who has since left the force, may have mishandled or removed the property from the store and there is no record of the property being booked out of the store.

“The force thoroughly investigated the incident. However, no arrests have been made to date. No officers or staff are facing disciplinary measures in respect of this incident.”

There has been no investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).