Oswestry farmer James Steele’s Rolex watch back after cow ate it

A farmer who believed his prized Rolex watch was eaten by a cow has been reunited with the timepiece half a century later.

James Steele, 95, said he lost the watch in the early 1970s when he “suddenly realised” its bracelet had broken.

Mr Steele, of Shropshire, said: “The cow could have eaten it with a mouthful of grass, the vet said.”

Now, a metal detectorist has given back the watch to the owner of Treflach Hall in Morda, Oswestry, after finding it on his land.

Mr Steele described the discovery as a “stroke of luck” and said it was “amazing” after all this time.

“I was quite pleased because I never thought I would see the watch again,” he said.

“But I have got it now. I only have half the bracelet – the other half must have disintegrated.

“I have the watch but it is not going. The face has gone greenish but it has not rusted up.”

Mr Steele praised the metal detectorist who found the watch, saying he could have quite easily not owned up to his discovery.

More valuables could still be found, the farmer said, encouraging the metal detectorist to keep working his land.

As for the watch, Mr Steele said it will now just be a keepsake as it would “cost a bomb” to do anything with.