Staff rescue ring from recycling centre container

Ms Duffy thought she would never see the ring again

Staff at a recycling centre have been thanked after they retrieved a ring which fell into a container filled with piles of wood and leaves.

Francesca Duffy, who lives in Shrewsbury, was dropping off branches for recycling, when her silver ring slipped off her hand into the container.

After an employee tried unsuccessfully to fish it out with a hook, she was told to return the following day, when she found that members of staff had retrieved it.

"It's just one of those nice things that happen in life that you’ll never forget," she said.

"It's a bit of a miracle really, I just couldn't believe that I got it back," said Ms Duffy.

"In my mind I'm like, 'there's no way i’m getting it back in that massive pile of wood'. People were filling it up as I was there. More and more wood was going on top of it.

"I was grateful that they'd bothered and quite amazed that I'd got it back. What are the chances?" she said.

Ms Duffy bought the ring for herself and said she was very fond of it.

"I was absolutely devastated," she recalled.

After getting the ring back, Ms Duffy subsequently posted about the act of kindness on social media.

The post has now had almost 1,000 interactions.

"When I shared my story, so many other people had nice stories to say about them, and how helpful they are, and what a good job they do," she said.

"In this miserable June, with everything that's happening, its nice to have a nice thing happen in life."

Veolia, who employ the two members of staff, said it was a team effort, and it was delighted Ms Duffy has her ring back.

"We always do our best to help, but we urge everyone to be careful with their belongings when visiting one of our household recycling centres," the firm said.