A man has been reunited with a ring that he lost while picking fruit - over half a century ago. Dave Radley, 75, was distraught when he lost a gold signet ring gifted by his late mother for his 21st birthday - after it slipped off his fingers as he picked strawberries in 1968. The retired train engineer said he spent hours trying to recover the 9 carat ring and in the end, sadly had to accept his loss. But in a stroke of luck, last month a metal detectorist who received a tip-off from the owner about the lost item made the heart-warming discovery. Dave, of Mountsorrel, Loughborough said: "The ring might not have changed but its owner has - so it's a fairly tight fit. "I've had to have it changed slightly as I can just about get it on. But none of that matters because I'm so grateful to have it back". Dave says the ring would have been an expensive gift at the time of its purchase and his mother would have likely bought it via a catalogue and paid over a period of time. He turned 21 in May 1968 and received the ring as a special birthday present - but lost it just weeks later. His family lived in Seagrave, Leicestershire, at the time where Dave picked strawberries with his friend Mick Lovett to sell to local shops. He was picking strawberries in the field behind Mick's dad's house ready to sell that morning when he suddenly realised the ring was no longer on his finger. Fast forward 54 years and Dave got a call from Mick's younger brother Peter - who still owns the land - and told him a a metal detectorist had knocked on his door. And, lo and behold, after searching around the same area Peter lost it, he came back ring in hand.