Saved by a 'fatberg': Londoner's wedding ring miraculously recovered after drain fall

A film-maker who dropped his platinum wedding ring down a drain told today of his joy at recovering it, thanks to it landing on a “fatberg”.

Pascal Gunter watched the £550 ring slip off his finger and drop through a small hole on the side of a solid manhole cover, but instead of being washed away it landed on a congealed mass of fat and waste.

Mr Gunter, 46, was filming a bank commercial in Beckton, east London, when the ring came off. He said: “The ring flew from my finger and it all went into slow motion. We all watched as the ring rolled, and rolled, and rolled and then just disappeared.

“I really didn’t think Thames Water would be able to do anything, but they were very kind and unbelievably understanding. When I heard later in the afternoon that the ring had been found, I was so pleased. It happened almost on the first anniversary of our marriage and the ring has enormous sentimental value.”

Mr Gunter, whose wife Jane, 37, a clinical researcher, is pregnant with their first child, said: “It appears that losing wedding rings is more common than you think. Three men at the bank said they had lost wedding rings on more than one occasion.

“However, I have learned my lesson. I am trying to cure myself of my habit of fiddling with my ring. I want it to stay on my finger from now on.”

Ian Payne, a Thames Water blockage engineer, spotted the ring at the bottom of the 10ft manhole shaft and lifted it out with a drain grab.

He said: “When the ring reached the drain cover, it just happened to drop through one of two small slots into which manhole lifting keys are placed.

“If it had rolled a centimetre either side, it would have stayed on the surface. In another way, though, Mr Gunter was very fortunate. His ring fell into a surface water drain. There had been no rain that day, so there was no water flow to carry the ring down the pipe.

“If it had been a foul or combined sewer, it probably would have been quickly washed along the line into Beckton sewage works, which was close by. Then it would have been almost impossible to find.”

Gemma Wiles, Thames Water customer co-ordinator, said: “We’re so pleased we were able to get Pascal’s ring back for him. If anything of sentimental or financial value is lost down a drain, we will do everything we can to help.”@benm_b