A BASINGSTOKE mum has been left overwhelmed by emotion after two Good Samaritans helped her find the pendant from her late nan's precious necklace.

Jodie McAulay, 38, was left panicked after the sentimental piece of jewellery went missing during a shopping trip to B&M, at Thorneycroft Industrial Estate next to Morrisons, on Monday.

"I left there at 10.30am. I had it on while I was there and when I got home, I realised I had the necklace around my neck but the pendant was missing," she told The Gazette.

"I know I had lost it there. I kept retracing my steps with my daughter in the car park and store. I told the staff and went back three times but nothing was handed in," the mother-of-two from Highfields, Basingstoke, said.

Distraught and desperate to be reunited with the item that belonged to her nan, who passed away in March 2018, Jodie put out an appeal with a reward of £100.

"My mum bought my nan the necklace when she was very young. I'd say my nan had the necklace for over 50 years, I never saw her without it," Jodie said.

"When she passed away, my mum kindly gave the necklace to me. It was so special and felt like I always had my nan with me. It broke my heart when she passed away then losing the necklace left like I'd lost her all over again," she added.

Through the power of social media and with the help of those who shared Jodie's appeal online, two people contacted her to let her know they had discovered the pendant.

Lisa Tancock found the missing piece of the necklace on a shelf in the gardening aisle while shopping in B&M with her work colleague Daryl Hall on Tuesday.

Daryl then messaged Jodie on Facebook, after spotting her appeal, to share the good news.

Jodie said: "I cannot thank them enough. I feel emotional and overwhelmed. I just wanted to thank the lovely people who have been so kind and reunited me with my necklace.

She added: "And I happily stuck to my word and gave the £100 reward."

It is estimated Britons spent the equivalent of 140 days during their lifetime looking for lost items, a study found.

The average UK adult spends nearly nine minutes every day looking for misplaced belongings. Topping the list of most commonly mislaid items include the television remote, glasses, keys and phone phones.

Psychologist, Dr Becky Spelman, speaking on behalf of Samsung SmartThings Find who commissioned the research in 2020, said the pandemic has affected everyone's lives, saying: "It’s unsurprising many of us have limited mental bandwidth for keeping track of our possessions.”

Separate research found 14 per cent of Brits claim to have lost a piece of jewellery to the sewers.