A ‘happy and relieved’ husband has been reunited with his priceless wedding ring after losing it on the railway – a week before his first wedding anniversary.
The heart-in-mouth moment happened in Lichfield over the late May bank holiday when local man Ben Harris was walking through the city with his wife Daisy, his 11-month-old son George, and friends.
After getting covered in greenfly from nearby bushes, Ben was taking off his jumper as he walked over the Sturgeons Hill footbridge near Lichfield City station when the wedding ring came loose – and he watched in horror as it dropped ‘in slow motion’ onto the railway below.
The ring disappeared into the vegetation at the side of the tracks and Ben was convinced the ring, given to him by his wife Daisy on their wedding day just under a year ago, was lost forever.
But swift action by Network Rail’s local team meant all was not lost and after searching through the vegetation, they rescued the ring and returned it to Ben less than 24 hours later.
The ring was found by Network Rail’s Mark Samson, who knew only to well how important it was to find it as he was just days away from celebrating his 32nd wedding anniversary.
Ben Harris, who lost the ring, said: “I could not believe what happened, it was as if the ring was dropping in slow motion into the nettles below. I thought it was lost forever and I was absolutely gutted – especially as it was so close to our first wedding anniversary.
“I reported it straight away to Network Rail and was so relieved when they called the next day to say they had found it. My wife would have killed me if it had been lost forever so Mark has saved my life! I definitely owe him a beer or two!”
Mark Samson, a Walsall-based mobile operations manager with Network Rail’s Central route who found the ring, said: “Ben’s a very lucky guy! It was like looking for a needle in a haystack and I never thought I’d find such a small ring but after some thorough searching all of a sudden it was there, I couldn’t believe it. I could tell from Ben’s face he was really chuffed – and relieved – and I was only too pleased to hand it back to him.
“Ben did absolutely the right thing by calling us and not trying to find it himself, I want to thank him for putting his safety first and letting us find it on his behalf.”
Ben has promised his wife Daisy he will take much more care of the ring in future and has already arranged to get it resized and insured.
It’s the second lost wedding ring that has been found on the railway in the West Midlands area after Eileen Lawrence lost hers at Bloxwich North station in 2018 as she moisturised her hands while waiting for a train. It was found by an eagle-eyed track worker after a search of the tracks the following day.
Anyone who drops or loses anything on the railway should never try and get it back themselves. Any incidents should always be reported to station staff or to Network Rail’s national helpline on 03457 114 141.
Image credit: Network Rail