And finally… dead ringer

Photo: North Yorkshire Police

The item in question is a replica of the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings.

North Yorkshire Police posted a photo of the precious item and its notorious inscription on Facebook, where it attracted over 53,000 comments within days.

The ring famously reads, in the language of Mordor: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”

Colleagues from Kingston Police in London joined in the fun, commenting on the post: “We can assist! We think (one of) the original owners was a Mr Sméagol. He used to live near Gladden Fields near the River Anduin. Hope that helps.”

Members of the public meanwhile quipped: “You sure put the Shire in Yorkshire!”

Another added: “Call up Sauron. He’s keeping one eye open for it.”

Eventually, after the post was shared over 73,000 times, North Yorkshire Police added: “Thanks for all the comments - we obviously need to brush up on our movie knowledge!”