A STOLEN engagement ring has been recovered by police hours after the burglary took place, thanks to quick thinking by an officer.

A house in the North Road area of Darlington was broken into yesterday (Wednesday, January 23) morning, with the thieves taking a number of items including a laptop, computer tablet, jewellery and cash.

Also stolen was a distinctive white gold engagement ring with a large emerald, surrounded with diamonds, valued at £2,500.

After being alerted to the crime, a member of Darlington Police’s serious crime team issued a STOP message, which stands for ‘stop thieves offloading property’, and alerted shops around the town to be on the lookout for the stolen items.

Shortly afterwards Asquith’s Jewellers, in Post House Wynd, contacted police to say that they may have taken in the diamond and emerald ring from two men who had visited the shop.

The ring was confirmed as the stolen item.

Two suspects have since been arrested and are in custody.

Annette Metcalfe, partnership liaison officer for Durham Police, said: “This was a great result and just shows how successful the scheme is because we were able to get the information out to all the second hand shops in Darlington very quickly.”