Pensioner spends over seven years doing 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle... then finds ONE bit is missing
A pensioner who spent almost eight years working on a 5,000-part jigsaw finally finished it - only to find there is one piece missing.
Dedicated Jack Harris, 86, had been painstakingly piecing together the puzzle since 2002, when he was given the jigsaw as a Christmas present.
But when he put the last piece in place and stood back to admire his work, he was horrified to spot a tiny hole in the middle of his 'finished' jigsaw, where the missing piece should be.
The puzzled pensioner has searched his home in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, for the elusive piece but his family fear it has gone for good.
They have even asked the puzzle's manufacturer if they could provide a spare - but Mr Harris has taken so long to complete the jigsaw that Falcon Games has stopped making it.
His daughter-in-law Eve Harris, who gave him the Christmas present, said she thought the 5,000-piece puzzle would be a challenge for the retired businessman.
He is given a new jigsaw every year, and usually finishes them by spring-time, but this puzzle was to prove different.
Mr Harris said he started the 5ft jigsaw - which shows the 19th Century oil painting The Return of the Prodigal Son, by James Tissot - as usual.
He spread the 4,999 pieces across his dining table and confidently thought he would be done by summer.
But seven years later the pieces were still spread across the table as he struggled to complete the mammoth puzzle.
Mrs Harris said: 'We got him this one as a bit of a joke really, because he always boasted he could get them done so quickly, he's a bit of a whiz with them.
'There was so much to do. We'd all have a go at it each time we went over there, but it seemed to just take forever.
'It was marvellous to see it finally completed. But when we saw there was a piece missing from the middle, we just couldn't believe it.
'He was just so disappointed when he found one bit was missing. It's sad really because now it will never be completed.'
The family fear the missing piece has been thrown away by mistake, or eaten by one of Mrs Harris' two pet dogs.
Mr Harris said: 'I always said I could get the puzzles done by the end of March so I could get out into the garden, but this one took a bit longer.'
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