A grandmother who thought her engagement ring was lost for good has found it – 38 years later, thanks to a Sittingbourne woman.

The unexpected discovery is a remarkable story of sheer luck, the power of the internet and touching honesty.

Jackie Cook’s ring disappeared after her inquisitive daughter Clare, then aged three, rummaged through her mum’s jewellery and fished out a sparkler that caught her eye.

The tot decided to bury the ring in the garden at the family home on Ladds Farm in Halling where dad Benjamin was gamekeeper at the time.

It wasn’t until the next day that Mrs Cook, now 66, noticed the ring her husband-to-be saved more than a month’s wages to buy, had gone missing.

The couple turned the place upside down. They even hired a metal detector to scour the grounds but their search was in vain.

Mrs Cook said: “I just gave up all hope. It was of enormous emotional value to me and for years I did not replace it. Benjamin and I had chosen the ring together two years before we got married.”

On July 13, when she was doing some clearing up at their home in High Street, Halling, she stumbled across some old photographs and decided to post them on the Old Photographs of Halling website.

Just hours later, young mum Toni Crouch, now of Bassett Road, Sittingbourne, recognised the picture of Ladds Farm, which had also been her childhood home.

The 29-year-old immediately messaged Mrs Cook and in the conversation that followed, she mentioned that when she was a child she came across a gold ring in the back garden.

She had kept it for all those years – and sent a picture of it to a stunned Mrs Cook who confirmed it was indeed her missing engagement ring.

Mrs Cook said: “I just filled up and cried and cried. I know it’s hard to believe but I had dreamt about the ring the week before and have to say I believe in fate.”

As her husband of 44 years slipped the ring back on to her finger, Mrs Cook said: “Apart from when my grandchildren were born, this is the happiest day of my life.

“And the ring still fits. There’s a stone missing, but we don’t care how much it costs to replace it. Finding my ring is priceless.”

Mrs Crouch, was equally elated. She said: “ It’s so wonderful to make somebody so happy.”

As Mr and Mrs Cook presented with her a bouquet and bracelet to say thank you, she said: “We shall certainly be in touch. We shall be friends for life.”