ALL they need are the final four pieces.

A group of Hampshire pensioners spent five months assembling the world's largest commercially available jigsaw - only the discover there were a few bits missing.

The German-made puzzle depicts four ancient maps of the world, plus scenes from history.

Residents at Marryat Court in Marryat Road, New Milton, watched it gradually take shape after work began on August 19 last year.

Excitement mounted as they neared the end of their marathon task.

Now the pensioners have been left frustrated and disappointed after finding that four of the 18,240 pieces are absent.

Warden Jan Rogers said international efforts were being made to find a solution.

She added: "Two of the missing segments show Roman soldiers and the other two form part of one of the maps.

"They might have gone astray during the assembly of the jigsaw or they could have been lost at the factory.

"We bought the puzzle from a catalogue company called Boogaloo, which is liaising with the manufacturer in Germany.''

The giant jigsaw, which measures nine feet by six feet, occupies a quarter of the communal lounge.

Mrs Rogers added: "Some handmade jigsaws are bigger but this is the largest manufactured one.

"The residents did it whenever they could. A few came in each morning, followed by a few more in the afternoon and a couple in the evening.

"When we've got all the bits we intend to mount it on the wall - but that's another problem."

One of the people who took part was Georgina Foote, 67, who said the sponsored event had raised £670 for Children in Need.

She added: "We thought we could complete the jigsaw in time for Children in Need day in November if we did 250 pieces a day, but it was really difficult and sometimes we managed only 25.

"It's absolutely devastating to have done all that work and still be four pieces short."

Fellow resident Jean Wilkes, 72, said: "We were so looking forward to finishing the puzzle, but now we don't know where the missing pieces are."

A Boogaloo spokesman said: "If we can identify which bits are missing, there's no reason why we can't supply substitutes."