A TREASURED book missing from Hapton for around 30 years mysteriously re-appeared at a table top sale in Wales.

The hand-written history book about the village was found in a refuse tip, and was then sold at a second-hand sale in Swansea.

Luckily, a lady who happened to be a keen local historian came across it and realised it may be of value to the people of Hapton.

She tracked down the Hapton Heritage Group on the internet, and posted the book to group secretary Jennifer Butterfield.

Members of the group are delighted that the book, which they thought had been lost forever, has been returned to the village.

Group chairman Joan Lakeland said: “I remember when the book went missing.

“I was so upset and annoyed, but we couldn’t do anything about it really, and now it’s found its way back after all these years!

“I was amazed that it had come back. It was like finding something you thought was lost at home, but multiplied.

“What an apt time for it to come back, when we’re doing all this work on the history of Hapton.

“It needs to be kept somewhere really safe now. It looks very delicate so we’re hoping to put it into the archives at Preston once we’ve copied what we need from it.”

The book was penned by a well-known character in the village, Tom Carter, who even has a street named after him.

He started writing the book in 1894 when he became one of the first members of the newly-formed Hapton Parish Council.

The book contains information about Hapton which is unavailable elsewhere, including lists of children who died in the canal, names of villagers who were given commendations for bravery, and details of a proposed dog racing track, which sparked much objection.

The book was left to the people of Hapton by Tom Carter and was kept in a glass cabinet at Hapton Liberal Club.

When the club was refurbished, it was passed to the chairman of the parish council for safekeeping.

It was later borrowed by a child for a school project but was never seen again.

The heritage group is looking for funding to help unearth the history of Hapton after archaeologists uncovered possible remains of a medieval hamlet.