Book collector 'gobsmacked' to find notes by wife

A book collector was "completely gobsmacked" to find a charity shop novel contained a note written 50 years ago by his wife.

Steph Mills was rearranging his Enid Blyton collection at home in Hockley, Essex, when he discovered the handwritten message by spouse Karen.

The book was given away by his mother-in-law in the 1970s and Mr Mills said it was a "mind-blowing" coincidence to unknowingly buy it.

"I kept rereading it and thought 'This cannot be, surely?'," said the 67-year-old.

The note gave details of Mrs Mills' life as a child in Staffordshire - when she had not met Mr Mills - including details of family members and old addresses.

Mr Mills purchased The Naughtiest Girl Again book in Rayleigh, more than 160 miles (257km) away from where his mother-in-law handed it in at a local fete.

But he only realised what it contained during a recent tidy-up of his bookshelf.

"I opened the front cover and I was shocked to see my brother-in-law's name in it," he explained.

"It included an address that I'd heard my wife mention and I just couldn't believe it."

Mr Mills, who owns about 50 Enid Blyton novels, then showed his 60-year-old wife, who turned the page and found the note she penned.

"She was equally shocked," he continued. "It was actually quite a cute thing to look at."

The surprise did not end there for the couple, however.

They went on to discover two other novels on his bookshelf also featured annotations by his wife.

"We both sat there really not quite sure how to handle it because this was just extraordinary," Mr Mills said.

"They look nice on the shelf and it gives me a nice warm feeling to know I've got them."

The retired civil servant said realising he and Mrs Mills shared the same love of books as children "bridges the two of us even closer".

He added: "There's probably more out there, so it's set me on another quest."