Couple get back 1962 love letters found in canal

Arch and Janet Sims, who have lived in Nottingham and Hemel Hempstead respectively, were married in 1965

Love letters written in 1962 that a woman found in a canal have been reunited with their rightful owners - a couple married for 60 years.

A total of 32 handwritten letters, tied together with blue ribbon, had been postmarked in Nottingham and addressed to the then Janet Millington in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

In May, a woman recovered the letters while magnet fishing near the Fort shopping park in Birmingham and posted pictures on social media.

And following an appeal on BBC Midlands Today, the letters - which had been stolen in a burglary - are now back with the couple 80 miles away, Arthur and Janet Sims in Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Mr Sims, known as Arch, said: "An old friend phoned us up. We [were] on holiday in Norfolk, and she says, 'You've just been on the telly.'"

All the letters carry a Nottingham postmark and are dated February to March 1962

His wife said: "We were broken into and I didn't realise they were missing.

"I said to Arch, 'The letters are gone,' and he said, 'No, you've hid 'em somewhere; they're somewhere else.'"

Lincolnshire Police said they believed they had been stolen during a series of burglaries in the county on one day, 28 May.

Shirley Elmore, the woman who found the letters while magnet fishing with her son, brought them home to dry.

Ms Elmore, 52, stated the envelopes were all opened, but many were too damaged to salvage.

Mr Sims, pictured with his wife, said the letters "had the same value as money"

They were addressed to the future Janet Sims at Glen View Road in Hemel Hempstead, while Mr Sims, who signed the letters Arch, gave his address as Rupert Street in the Meadows area of Nottingham.

But that road is now part of an industrial estate.

Although the letters have been returned, Mrs Sims' engagement ring is still missing.

Police investigating burglaries had reached out to the BBC, hoping that locating where the letters were dumped would help identify those responsible.

Items stolen from three Lincolnshire homes included engagement rings, pocket watches, solitaire diamond rings, gold chains and a mobile phone.

The force appealed to anyone with information about the stolen items, particularly in the Erdington area, to get in touch.

The BBC appealed for help in solving the mystery of the love-struck couple, after the letters were found in the canal

The couple, who married in 1965, said they wanted to thank the woman who rescued their love story, and in a video call Mrs Sims stated: "Shirley, you're a wonderful lady, you really are."

Ms Elmore replied: "You're more than welcome, sweetheart. I thought it was a wad of money."

Mr Sims then stated: "It's had the same value as money."

Shirley Elmore, who spoke to the couple on a video call, had previously posted pictures of the letters on social media

Mrs Sims, who said the letters had been "in my cupboard for 60 years in the knicker drawer", stated the couple had been "married 60 years, mostly happy".

Her husband then joked: "I remember a Wednesday when you weren't."

More than 30 handwritten letters were addressed to the then Janet Millington before she got married

The police investigation continues into who may have been responsible for taking the letters.

Ms Elmore has said they revealed how the sender was feeling, his fondness for Janet and how much he was missing her.

Asked by the BBC how he felt about the fact people had read his letters, Mr Sims replied: "It is what it is."

He added: "I'm still who I am. I still feel the same. It's just that I... can't visualise them, as floaters in a canal."