A COUPLE were surprised when a silver ring fell out of the pages of a 65-year-old Northern Echo they discovered in the loft of their house.

The special edition copy of the Echo marks the abdication of Edward VIII on December 11, 1936, and was found when Shaun Landreth was packing away their Christmas decorations.

"It was just lying there in a carrier bag, still preserved and in excellent quality, and as I turned the pages I saw the ring," said Mr Landreth, 26, of Marston Gardens, Hartlepool.

"It might be of sentimental value to someone.

"We have only moved in recently and don't know who has lived here in the past, but it is interesting when you come across things like that."

His fiancee, Andrea Atkinson, 23, is going to take the ring to a jewellers to see what she can find out about it.

She said: "When I first saw the ring I though it might have been a Christmas present Shaun had forgotten about, but unfortunately it wasn't.

"I am looking forward to finding out a bit more about it because you never know . . . there might be some history behind it like there was in the newspaper."