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Widow left distraught by Belper jewellers mistake
A Belper jeweller has been given a formal caution by Trading Standards after falsely selling a grieving widow jewellery she believed had been made from her husband's wedding ring.
Pauline Ward, of Allestree, asked David Nidd to make her late husband's gold ring into heart-shaped lockets for her daughters, which the pair would wear on the elder girl's wedding day.
But instead of getting the precious ring crafted into unique pieces he sold her two mass-produced gold lockets.
Mr Nidd said this week : "The investigation arose as the result of a genuine error."
Mrs Ward, who lost her husband Stephen suddenly in 2008, said: "I think it's despicable. I'm still cross and upset about it. I trusted this man and now I have lost the wedding ring and the lockets are not what we expected them to be. I can't believe somebody would do that.
"I was happy that Stephen's ring would be part of the lockets. I thought the items would bring some comfort to my daughters as being something they could cherish forever.
"My daughters have nothing of their father's to cherish and I have lost his wedding ring, which had immense sentimental value. We all feel betrayed, angry and upset."
The deception was uncovered when a friend saw the exact same lockets on sale in a shop in Derby. Mrs Ward approached Mr Nidd on several occasions before he finally admitted that there was none of her gold in the lockets and he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of her husband's gold ring.
Trading standards has confirmed that the case was investigated and that
Mr Nidd, who has been based in the town for several years, received a formal caution.
Mr Nidd added in a statement: "There was never any intention to mislead the complainant.
"I fully understand that this matter has been very upsetting for the complainant. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that mistakes sometimes happen in business."
He added that measures had been taken to ensure the same did not happen again.
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Weather for Belper
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
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