A wedding ring found in a manure tank on a farm in Groningen province last month was probably lost on a farm in Noord-Brabant 37 years ago.

The owner of the ring, engraved Dini 28-7-60, has been ‘99%’ identified by finder Bram Hamminga from Zuidbroek after a Facebook appeal.

‘I cleaned out the inside of the manure tank last week and found all sorts of things… but one was shining, a wedding ring,’ Hamminga wrote in September.

The hunt for the owner first looked fruitless but Hamminga now believes the ring belongs to 76-year-old Brabant widow Diny van Oorschot.

Alerted by friends, Diny recognised the ring as belonging to her late husband who lost the ring on a farm in Noord-Brabant 37 years ago. Hamminga now plans to meet Diny next week to hand over the ring, RTV Noord said.

How the ring ended up in a manure tank in Groningen is unclear. Hamminga knows the tank was previously used in Drenthe and in the north east of Overijssel before being moved to his farm but does not know if it was ever used in Brabant.