York man found after police Lord of the Rings appeal Published duration 4 February

image copyright North Yorkshire Police image caption Mike Taylor said police "couldn't have picked someone better" to hand him the ring than Det Con Pete Wilson

The owner of a Lord of the Rings-style piece of jewellery has been tracked down after a police appeal prompted a huge response on social media.

Mike Taylor, 40, was reunited with the "distinctive silver ring" after the appeal reached 12 million people.

Police said they had received inquiries about the ring from "five hobbits, an elf and a couple of wizards".

But eventually Mr Taylor came forward to claim the ring, which was stolen from his home in York.

"I wouldn't mind travelling to Mount Doom, but I'll be hanging on to it this time," he said.

image copyright North Yorkshire Police image caption One Facebook user responded to the police appeal saying: "Kudos to the burglar who did over Sauron's house"

Mr Taylor was given the ring as a gift by his sister, who bought it while travelling in New Zealand where the Lord of the Rings films were shot.

He had the ring, which features the Elven lettering seen in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, for between 15 to 20 years before it was taken.

The ring was eventually found by North Yorkshire Police who seemed unaware of the JRR Tolkien connection when they shared photos on Facebook.

The post, which was shared about 75,000 times receiving almost 55,000 comments, eventually came to the attention of Mr Taylor.

'Compared to hobbit'

"Some of the comments I've seen are absolutely brilliant, the way people connected it back to the films," Mr Taylor said.

"It was great to see some of the humour of it, especially after they shared the picture of me picking up the ring."

Mr Taylor said he did not mind the Facebook comments comparing him to a hobbit.

"I'm not a cosplayer or anything but I really enjoyed the films so I don't mind the comparisons," he said.

A spokeswoman for the (North York)Shire Police thanked members of the public for "giving us a happy ending".