Bundle of 1962 letters recovered from a canal

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

A woman who recovered a bundle of letters from a city canal said she hoped to return them to their owner.

The cache of 32 handwritten letters, tied together with blue ribbon, were postmarked in Nottingham and delivered to an address in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in 1962.

Shirley Elmore, 52, discovered the letters while magnet fishing with her son close to the Ford Shopping Park in Birmingham last month.

She said she "was shaking with excitement" when she took them out of the water before bringing them home to dry.

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

The letters all have the same addresses and handwriting.

The address of the sender from Nottingham no longer exists - it is now part of an industrial estate

They were all addressed to a Janet Millington at Glen View Road in Hemel Hempstead.

The sender - who signs the letters "Arch" - also gave his address as Rupert Street in the Meadows area of Nottingham, but the road is now part of an industrial estate.

Ms Elmore said the personal letters revealed how he was feeling, his fondness for Janet and how much he was missing her.

In one he told how he had phoned her and got no answer, but would try again the next day.

The letters were addressed to this road in Hemel Hempstead

Ms Elmore posted pictures of the letters on social media and said she has received lots of comments but "no-one has been in contact".

She said she was not seeking any money and just wanted them "to go back to their rightful owner".

The acronym ITALY in the context of World War Two postal correspondence stood for "I Trust And Love You" and started as a way for soldiers to convey their feelings to loved ones back home