Angler Brian Douglas was stunned when he lost his watch out fishing only for his pal to reel it in two weeks later still ticking.

Brian, 64, thought his timepiece was gone for good when it fell in the river while he was out salmon fishing.

But by pure chance his angling pal Colin Rosemorgan hooked in the Lorus watch and to his surprise it was still working

Ex-miner Brian, 64, made his regular trip to the picturesque River Coquet in Northumberland on March 12.

He waded out into the middle of the river and as he cast his line the metal strap on his five-year-old watch came loose and shot into the air.

Brian, from Shilbottle, Northumberland, said: " "I tried to look for it, but the river is about 4ft deep and was cloudy. I knew I had no chance of ever seeing it again - or so I thought."

Brian's pal Colin pulled in the watch the following Tuesday.

Supermarket worker Colin, 50, from Morpeth, Northumberland, said: "I was using flies to pull in salmon when I felt something pull as I was reeling.

"I thought I had landed a catch when I saw this shiny thing on the end of the line.

"As I reeled it in to release my line I couldn't believe it was a watch - the same as the one that Brian had described - and it was still working."

Brian is now going to get the strap mended on the watch and put its replacement to one side.