A SPOT of gardening at a Derbyshire home helped its owner unearth an unusual item – a 120-year-old medal handed out by Queen Victoria.

Pictured is Rita Appleby showing off the trinket, which she found in her garden in St Peter's Close, Belper.

The medal reads: "In commemoration of laying the foundation stone of the Derbyshire General Infirmary, by HM Queen Victoria, May 21 1891."

Mrs Appleby believes it was given to the Mayor of Derby during the monarch's visit to the city at that time.

But she cannot work out how the medal, which she keeps secured in a plastic wallet, ended up in her garden.

She said: "It was quite a shock finding it in the garden because, if it belonged to the Mayor, it's a bit of a mystery how it found its way here.

"Perhaps the Mayor had visited a house somewhere near here and it had got lost somehow.

"It was kept in a drawer for a while but now I've kept it in a plastic wallet to keep it safe. I'm deciding what to do with it now – I think maybe it should be given to the people of Derby."