A DINER celebrating her 29th birthday at a seafood restaurant got the perfect present after her partner found a priceless pearl inside a mussel.

Paige Hawkins, from Kidderminster, recently dined at The Quayside at the Stourport Marina with a large group of family and friends to celebrate her milestone.

The mum-of-two said her fiancé Jimmy Lee bit into one of the mussels they ordered them and found something hard inside. He pulled it out to discover it was actually a rare pearl.

Speaking of her surprise, Ms Hawkins said: "We found it in a mussel.

"It just shocked us all. It was just a small, little one. I didn't know it could come from mussels.

"We researched it and it's really really rare to come from a mussel”.

The Quayside team said it was an "amazing moment" when the pearl was discovered, which their supplier, W Harvey and Sons, in Newlyn, Cornwall, said was very rare to find.

A spokesperson for the restaurant said: "This lucky lady came with her family and friends to celebrate her birthday with us.

"We were all so excited for her. Just shows what our native waters can produce.

"Happy Birthday Paige, enjoy your treasure".

Ms Hawkins, who is a chef by trade, said finding the pearl made for a "perfect evening."

She said she "can't rave about The Quayside enough" and goes to the restaurant to mark her birthday every year.

Ms Hawkins is currently looking into getting the pearl valued.

She added: "I need to find something special to put it in - a necklace or some piece of jewellery to try and keep it safe".