A valuable ring belonging to an 80-year-old woman’s late daughter and stolen during a visit to Skipton has been returned.

Muriel Stansfield was devastated when two rings belonging to her daughter, Sandra, were taken after she mistakenly left them in the ladies’ toilet of Rackhams department store on Good Friday.

But following an appeal in the Craven Herald, one of the rings, a large amethyst on a gold band, was returned to the department store.

“The store rang me to say they had a ring and it sounded like the amethyst, I went the next day and it was my ring,” said Mrs Stansfield.

Coincidentally, the ring was returned the day after Sandra would have celebrated her 60th birthday.

“I was looking at a picture of my daughter the day before and praying that the rings would be returned,” said Mrs Stansfield.

The ring had been delivered to the store in a piece of kitchen roll inside a padded envelope. There were stamps on the envelope, but no postage marks, suggesting it had been hand delivered.

“I’ve spoken to three different ladies at Rackhams over the last couple of weeks, and they’re all really touched that I got one of the rings back.,” she said. “I’m just so grateful that I’ve got it back – whoever took it must have had their conscience pricked by reading it in the paper.”

Mrs Stansfield, who now lives in Lancashire, used to live in Yorkshire and for several years spent Good Friday in Skipton with her daughter.

Her daughter died from cancer 11 years ago, but she continued to come to Skipton every Easter, starting off as they always did, with breakfast at Rackhams.

She had visited the toilet, taken off the rings to wash her hands and forgotten to put them back on. It was only when she returned home at the end of the day that she realised what she had done, but by that time, they had both disappeared.

Mrs Stanfield is now hoping that the other ring, a more valuable gold ring with three diamonds, will also be returned. “It might be that whoever took the rings has kept the other one, or it might have been that two people took a ring each, I’m just hoping they can return the other one too, it will mean so much to me,” she said.

The ring was her late daughter’s engagement ring and she had promised it to her grandson, who lives in Canada.

“My son and his family live in Canada and when he was over for my 80th birthday, he was admiring the ring and I said it was for Tristan when he decided to get married,” she said. “I feel like I’ve let everyone down and wish I’d given it to my son then.”

Despite what happened to her this year, Mrs Stansfield said she would be returning again for her annual Easter trip next year. “It certainly hasn’t put me off coming, but next year I will take more care,” she said.