Watch worth £21,000 discovered in Essex drain
A £21,000 gold Rolex watch has been plucked from a drain in Essex.
The 18-carat gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph was discovered by a worker cleaning the street drain near Chalkwell railway station last week and handed in to police on Monday.
Police said it had not been registered as lost or stolen.
The 28-year-old who found it did not want to be identified, but stands to own the watch if it is not claimed within the next 30 days.
The watch was discovered during a routine clean inside the drain by the Cory Environmental contractor.
Its five-figure value was confirmed to police when officers contacted Rolex to check the records it keeps of every watch made by the company.
PC Calley Mackay said: "This was a highly unusual find and it's hard to imagine how something so valuable has not been reported lost or stolen.
"It is possible, seeing as the drain was near Leigh train station, that the watch was dropped by a commuter."
Anyone who believed the watch was theirs should contact Essex Police but PC MacKay warned "only honest people need apply".