After his brother's suicide, his wife's miscarriage and a knifepoint mugging, Stewart Bridgman finally has something to smile about.

Mr Bridgman, 29, of Gibraltar Crescent, Epsom, has just had his stolen wedding ring replaced for free by a pawnbrokers who read about the crime in the Epsom Guardian.

Mr Bridgman was targeted by two men on the evening of December 10 as he walked along a path between Longmead Road and Chessington Road. 

One of the muggers pulled on Mr Bridgman’s hood and "yanked him back" while the other appeared before him with a knife, demanding he empty his pockets and hand over the rings he was wearing.

The muggers escaped with £10 in cash and £3,300 worth of jewellery.

Your Local Guardian:

Stewart and Stephanie Bridgman picking out a new ring at H&T Worcester Park 

They stole a gold ‘lover’s knot’ ring given to Mr Bridgman by his wife, Stephanie, 30, and a gold saddle ring, which he wears in recognition of his job as a bookmaker.

And most upsetting of all, Mr Bridgman’s gold double buckle wedding ring, containing four diamonds, worth £450 but uninsured, was also stolen.

Having read of the incident in the Epsom Guardian, pawnbrokers H&T, based in Central Road, Worcester Park, contacted Mr Bridgman to offer him a similar new wedding ring from the store.

He said: "The police have been very good about it but realistic.  They said ‘we’ll try to find these people but in reality we might get them but you’ve got a small chance of getting your stuff back as it was probably passed on to someone straight away’.

"That’s the bit that’s hurt the most.  It was my wedding ring and I’ll probably never see it again.  We only married in September 2012 in Las Vegas."

Mr Bridgman said the mugging was a bad end to a traumatic year.

He said: "I’ve been through a lot of hard times last year. 

"My brother passed away in September.  He took his own life and I found him.  My uncle passed away a bit before that.  Stephanie suffered a miscarriage. 

"I’ve been so down and unhappy so for H&T to contact me, I just didn’t think such a nice thing could happen.

"I’m so happy that 2013 is finished and we can start making a better 2014. You just don’t hear of generosity and goodwill gestures like this."

Polly Fergusson, from H&T, said: "We were shocked to read about Stewart's mugging and having something stolen as precious as a wedding ring is awful.

"He's a local guy and as a local jeweller we wanted to offer him our help.  H&T has a big range of wedding rings on offer, and Stewart and Stephanie have found one they want - so smiles all around."

On the day of the mugging, Mr Bridgman was popping to the shops for something to eat.

He said he was walking through the path joining Brook Close and Chessington Road, a journey he has completed "thousands of times", when the muggers pounced.

He said: "I started walking through the alley and saw two people by the BT service box.  As I walked through, one of them grabbed my hood and yanked me back.  Another was in front of me with a knife.  He said ‘empty your pockets’. 

"I didn’t have my phone as it was at home charging.  I just had my rings and £10 in my pocket.  He saw my rings and said ‘give them to us’.  All I thought was ‘I can have my rings replaced but I can’t replace me’."

Epsom born-and-bred Mr Bridgman said he no longer walks through the pathway and believes lighting must be installed there.

He said: "I can look after myself but there’s only so much you can defend yourself against a weapon.

"We need the council to put some lighting in that alley.  When it’s dark you can’t see through it.  If it’s intimidating for me and I’m a 17-stone, 6ft guy, it’s going to be intimidating for others."

Epsom’s neighbourhood inspector Craig Knight supports the idea, but said such a move would depend on funding and whether Surrey County Council considers it to be a priority area.

Insp Knight said: "Lighting and CCTV always help, they’re good crime prevention measures.  But that alleyway is a very long and putting it in would be expensive, and this area doesn’t flag any worse or better than anywhere else.

"The investigation into this incident is ongoing.  We are still following up some leads."

TODAY'S HEADLINES IN EPSOM AND EWELL