Thief holds on for days after swallowing ring

It was, to say the least, an unconventional romantic gesture. Unable to afford the diamond engagement ring that he had set his heart on for his girlfriend, Simon Hooper popped it into his mouth, price tag and all, when a jeweller's back was turned and swallowed it whole.

At first it looked as if the 28-year-old might just have got away with it. Police strip-searched him but could find no trace of the platinum ring - until one of them ran a metal detector over his stomach.



They took him to hospital, where an x-ray revealed a suspicious ring-shaped object in his stomach, but Hooper denied it was the piece of jewellery, claiming he had accidentally swallowed a piece of foil paper. So officers put him in a cell and waited for nature to take its course.

A determined Hooper held on for as long as possible, forcing the police to seek an extension to the time they could hold him, a move usually reserved for serious crimes. Three days and three nights later the £1,750 ring re-emerged. They cleaned up the evidence and charged him.

Magistrates in Blandford, Dorset, jailed Hooper for 12 weeks after he admitted the bizarre theft. The court was told he desperately wanted the ring so he could make a stylish proposal to his long-term girlfriend, who had just had a baby.