IT WAS a labour of love which took her around the world in six months.

Now Southampton granny Hazel Khan has finally completed her 18,240 piece jigsaw only to find one piece missing. Hazel, 70, of Stafford Road, Shirley, could not believe it when she got to the end of the huge puzzle depicting four ancient maps of the world.

After hours and hours of painstaking work, her task could not be completed - because a tiny piece of Africa was nowhere to be found. Hazel said: "I have done some of the jigsaw most days since I started it last July.

"Obviously some days I wasn't able to do any and I had a bit of a break over Christmas.

"It was rather annoying to get to the end and find a piece missing. It is just possible that it may have fallen between the hardboard and the table. It certainly isn't on the floor as my grandchildren have been down there looking."

Jigsaw fan Hazel bought herself the German made puzzle - officially the world's largest commercially available jigsaw - as the ultimate challenge. She said: "The jigsaw is 9ft by 6ft and takes up three pasting tables. The time has come to dismantle it."

Hazel hasn't said if she wants her money back but she already has her next project lined up.

It's a tricky 5,000 piece puzzle showing the interior of an ornate building.