A woman almost gave away an engagement ring worth £70,000 without realising its value.

Engagement ring accident

Engagement ring accident

She wanted to donate the stunning four carat diamond Cartier ring and a blue sapphire ring, as well as some other items, to charity, but thankfully for her, she first thought she ought to consult auctioneer Gareth Wasp.

He said, according to the Metro newspaper: ''If I hadn't had been on the ball that day the rings would have ended up in the charity shop for someone lucky enough to find them.

''I noticed the Cartier box straight away.

''But that doesn't always mean there is going to be a Cartier ring inside.

''I looked everywhere for the Cartier signature on the ring because it is normally on the inside, but this was in fact signed on the outside, which is really rare.''