Tourist’s lost jewellery retrieved from rubbish

Kathleen and Eric McKimmon, from Cupar in Scotland, were visiting family and friends when Eric unknowingly put Kathleen’s jewellery collection in a waste bin.

The jewellery had huge sentimental value and included six necklaces, three rings and a charm bracelet.

Kathleen said: “As a result of a break-in at our home a few years ago, where my complete jewellery collection was stolen, I take my jewellery with me, disguised in a plastic bag.

“We made a stop at Sprucefield, where my husband disposed of the litter, including the plastic bag, without realising its contents.”

It wasn’t until Kathleen went looking for her jewellery the next morning that she realised it wasn’t in the car.

She added: “When we realised what had happened, we drove back to Sprucefield to see if there was any chance of retrieving the jewellery but as expected, the bins had been emptied. At this stage, I had lost all hope.”

After speaking with John McGuigan at Marks & Spencer in Sprucefield and contacting the centre manager, who said there was a possibility of stopping the process, Kathleen was put in touch with waste management company RiverRidge.

It processes most of its waste on the day of collection at one of the company’s three materials recovery facilities, so it is very rare to find anything that someone mistakenly throws away.

Pamela Jordan, senior commercial manager at RiverRidge, said: “When I received Kathleen’s email, I knew how distressing this must have been for her.

“We always try to accommodate as best we can, and after contacting our operations manager at the Mallusk facility, Danny McErlain, the team got to work – on their hands and knees seeing if any of the jewellery could be recovered.”

Kathleen and Eric had arrived at the ferry port, and were waiting to board the boat for their return to Scotland, when they received a call from Pamela saying that the bag containing the jewellery had been found.

Kathleen said: “I couldn’t believe it, I was elated. I am so grateful to everyone who helped out along the way – from the team at M&S, Pamela, and the team at RiverRidge who went above and beyond to retrieve the jewellery. Everyone was incredible.

“Nobody could have been more helpful, comforting and reassuring. My sincere thanks to everyone who was involved.”