Jack Harris, 86, had been painstakingly piecing together a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle sine 2002, when he was given the jigsaw as a Christmas present.
But when he put the last piece in place and stood back to admire his work, he was horrified to see a tiny hole in the middle of his ‘finished’ jigsaw, where the missing piece should be.
The puzzled pensioner has searched his home in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, for the elusive piece but his family fear it has gone for good.
They have even asked the puzzle’s manufacturer if they could provide a spare – but Mr Harris has taken so long to complete the jigsaw that Falcon Games has stopped making it.
The family fear the missing piece has been thrown away by mistake, or eaten by one of Mr Harris’ two pet dogs.