DAVE Stroud was devastated when – during a city break in Venice to mark his and wife Melanie’s first anniversary – he discovered he had lost his wedding ring.

The 49-year-old – who is director of Dorset-based BCP Media – was in the Italian city with his wife to mark 12 months as a wedded couple when, four days into their break, he realised he had lost the ring.

Despite scouring photos to see if they could whittle down where it could be, they were unsuccessful.

The unique ring was designed by Melanie and was crafted from meteorite and dinosaur teeth – making the loss all the more difficult to bear.

Dave and Melanie were distraught to find the ring had gone missing – but it is now back where it belongs!

Having returned home to Wimborne, the couple had given up all hope of finding it and started making plans to replace it.

However, when Dave and colleague Luca Shenton went to Poole to retrieve a printer he had wrapped before leaving for Venice, something caught Luca’s eye.

There, gleaming through the wrapping on the device, was Dave’s treasured ring.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Dave. “We had given up hope of finding it and had already begun the process of getting a replacement.

“The ring is only worth about £700 but Melanie had designed it and of course it was priceless to me.

“I had wrapped the printer on the Friday and flew to Venice the next day unaware that I had lost it.

“On Tuesday I woke up after dreaming that the ring had gone. And when I looked at my finger it was missing.

“Melanie was not happy and we studied our phone pics to try and work out where it might have been lost, but in the end we gave up and assumed it had gone forever.

“We flew back on the Wednesday and made an appointment to have a replacement made.

The ring was discovered in printer wrapping…

“The following day, I returned to Store & Secure to get the huge printer ready for collection. And it was then my colleague Luca found it, gleaming in the wrap.”

Lucy Maidman, who runs Store & Secure in Poole with sister Sophie, said: “As they were bringing the printer out I looked up at the CCTV and they were both jumping up and down and clapping and high-fiving.

“It was such a wonderful moment and we’re so happy the ring was found.”