A wedding album which went missing when a caravan was stolen in Northern Ireland 17 years ago has mysteriously reappeared at the home of its owners.

Nigel and Gillian Stewart had long given up hope of seeing their wedding photographs which were inside the caravan when it was stolen, but on Tuesday the album was left at the gate to their home in a plastic bag, the BBC reported.

"I thought I was seeing things," the BBC quoted Gillian as saying this week. "I was absolutely stunned. Speechless."

The couple recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and the album's reappearance at their home in Gilford, County Down, has been a revelation for their children.

"It's lovely for the children -- they only know their dad with grey hair," Gillian joked.

She said she was extremely grateful to whomever gave the photographs back and wonders all over again who it was that stole the caravan, but added that she bore no grudges.

"You needn't be a bit afraid to come forward to me, because I bear no grudges. The past is the past, the future's the future," she said.

"I would just love whoever it was to come forward, so I could thank them in person."