Fears woman's wedding ring was stolen at Southampton hospital

But Southampton General Hospital said that while it 'accepted full responsibility' for the ring's disappearance, it was not treating it as theft and would launch an investigation into what happened.

Sheila Tarrant was admitted to the Tremona Road hospital at the end of April after suffering a third stroke.

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The 87-year-old died on May 3, but her passing has been anything but peaceful for her loved ones who are searching tirelessly for her wedding ring - having recovered a second ring which also had gone missing.

Sheila Tarrant (Image: Tania Pegg)

Tania Pegg, 59, from Lordswood said the discovery her mother's wedding ring was gone was 'traumatic', adding: “Nobody should go through what I did on the day I found out my mum’s rings were gone.

“I feel like her body has been violated.”

This comes as Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has confirmed they 'received a report relating to a ring being stolen from a patient at Southampton General Hospital'.

'Incredibly traumatic'

Tania Pegg holding a picture of her mum's hand, with her wedding ring (Image: Newsquest)

Mrs Pegg said she initially was going to leave the rings with her mother's body, but then thought her sister might want them, so she spoke to the funeral director on June 1 to get them back.

She said: “He told me mum’s rings weren’t on her body.

“I couldn’t believe it. For me, it was incredibly traumatic to find out her rings were not there.

“When my sister visited mum before she died, she said her rings were still on her finger."

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She added: “Her left hand was the most affected hand from her previous two strokes.

“Her wedding ring finger was particularly affected, so there was absolutely no way the rings would’ve just fallen off.

“There was no need for them to be cut off either as she was in a coma."

'It is serious'

The second ring was later found ‘wrapped in tissue’ among her belongings – something that aroused her suspicion.

Mrs Pegg reported her mother's missing wedding ring to the hospital’s complaint service PALS on June 12 and later, to the police.

On July 10, she received a response from David French, the chief executive officer of UHS.

In an email shared with the Echo, Mr French told Ms Pegg he is ‘aware of the complaint’ and that he ‘acknowledges the distress this has and will cause'.

But for Mrs Pegg, ‘unacceptable’ incidents like these should be treated seriously.

She said: “Your wedding rings are part of who you are.

“The NHS should be respecting and taking care of everything that belongs to a patient."

Investigation launched

The hospital trust has confirmed an internal investigation was launched following the incident.

Sarah Herbert, deputy chief nursing officer at UHS, said: “We’re deeply sorry for the distress this has caused Mrs Tarrant’s family at what is already a very upsetting time.

“We fully accept responsibility for the loss of the wedding ring and initiated an internal investigation after it was unable to be located.

“The outcome of those inquiries are being shared with the family and will be used to improve how we safely manage patient property.”