A woman's 32-year-long search for a missing piece of her late grandmother’s tea service finally came to an end during a “one-in-a-million” trip to a Halstead tea room.

When Sue Slaughter nipped in to the Quinteassential Tea Room, in Halstead’s High Street, with her husband Gary, never did she expect to find a teapot she had been searching for more than three decades.

A vintage Colclough ivy leaf tea set, which was discontinued in the 1930s, was given to Mrs Slaughter’s grandmother for a wedding present.

Over the years, items were missing or broke and it became Mrs Slaughter’s life-long mission to replace them and create a complete set again.

The last piece - the teapot - remained elusive for years until she happened to pop into the Halstead tea room during her visit to Chelmsford, Coggeshall and Pattiswick to trace her grandmother’s history.

See the Halstead Gazette for the full story.