Katie Thomas, who got engaged to her husband Dan in 2021 before the couple married in 2023, first lost the rings last Tuesday when she took them off to moisturise her hands and do some housework.
After about a day without her rings, it became apparent they had been picked up by the couple’s daughter Phoebe, who had likely decided to play with them before putting them in a bathroom bin. This was subsequently been placed in a black bin bag and taken to the Household Waste and Recycling Centre at Longue Hougue.
‘As soon as we realised we were on the phone to Guernsey Waste early on Thursday morning,’ Mrs Thomas said.
‘The staff were amazing, they must have gone through literally hundreds of bags to try and find our bag, and somehow they did.’
‘I’m so, so grateful, they’re absolute heroes.’
Paul Corbet, the Guernsey Waste customer services officer who took Mrs Thomas’ initial call, said he felt ‘terrible’ for her upon hearing what had happened.
‘I had to be open and honest with her, I told her the chances of us finding the rings were slim to none, and slim was packing its bags and about to head out the door,' he said.
‘But I obviously wanted to help her, so I got her to send me some photos of the rings and details about the bag, its size, what time it arrived at the site and in what car.
‘She was able to give me loads of information, which was really helpful for when it came to looking on CCTV.’
Mr Corbet then liaised with waste transfer station assistant manager Cliffy Roussel.
‘One thing that worked in Katie’s favour was that the centre was closed on Thursday, so the bag wouldn’t have been moved around too much,’ Mr Roussel said.
‘It was also a large bag, so my guys were only really looking for the biggest sacks they could find.’
A key detail was the contents in the top of the bag, as recalled by Mrs Thomas – two smaller waste bags and a sock organiser.
Upon discovering a bag that matched the description, site supervisor Zac Hall radioed in to report the find, before a call was made to Mrs Thomas, who later came to collect the bag and eventually found the rings when she opened it up at home.
‘A big thanks to my guys, they did really well and I’m delighted we were able to reunite Katie with her ring,’ Mr Roussel said.
Mrs Thomas said they were so relieved.
‘The rings were designed by my husband and made by a local jewellery company, so if worst had come to worst we could have got them remade, but they would never have replaced the sentimental value and meaning of the originals,’ she said.
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