Judy Sharp was given her grandmother's fob watch by her father, an item that became "very special" to her. 

When Ms Sharp's house was broken into in 2014, the watch was among the things stolen. 

It seemed like the watch was gone forever after so much time had passed, but one vehicle search by police on Sunday night changed all that. 

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During a random breath test in Bentinck Street, a 25-year-old man who was travelling as a passenger in the vehicle was found to be in pocession of 33 grams of ice in a concealed pill bottle.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a number of items, including the watch with the name Emily Rosalie Renshaw and her date of birth engraved.

Ms Sharp said police trawled through records to see if there were any reports relating to the watch.

Officers were able to trace it and contact other members of Ms Sharp's family, who then got in touch with her.

On Tuesday, the watch was returned to Ms Sharp at Bathurst Police Station.

"I cried. I certainly got very emotional because it was something I felt really bad for it being lost, because it had been given to me in trust," she said. 

"It is just wonderful that it has been found."

Ms Sharp said she was very grateful to Bathurst Police for finding and helping to return something of such significance to her. 

"I'm very, very thankful for the officer for going back through the records," she said.

"I can't thank them enough." 

This article first appeared on the Western Advocate website.