Lucky guessers won a diamond worth a whopping £1,200 at a sparkling Gin and Jazz shopping event in St Albans.

As part of the event Simon and Hannah Rabbitt entered a competition to guess how many gems filled a giant gin glass in Wharton Goldsmith’s window display - they estimated 18,888. It actually held 18,880.

In just a couple of hours, the competition raised more than £200 in aid of military veteran charity Help for Heroes and was part of a thoroughfare long shopping celebration down George Street.

Presented to them by owner and director of Wharton Goldsmith Catherine Wharton, Simon and Hannah’s prize was a 0.25 carat princess-cut diamond.

The shop is now helping the couple to place the stone.

Christopher Wharton said: “How could we resist such an opportunity? We raised a considerable sum for the charity in the space of a few hours. The Gin and Jazz evening was a fabulous event: we enjoyed sharing our knowledge that George Street is the best place in the area for boutique shopping and independent brands.

“Now we’re looking forward to helping Mr and Mrs Rabbitt create just the right setting for their diamond.”

The Gin and Jazz event was organised by St Albans Business Improvement District (BID) and included street performances, adult facepainting from The Glitterbox, food and drink tasting, and beauty demonstrations.

St Albans BID manager Helen Burridge said: “Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Rabbitt. We often say that George Street and the cathedral quarter are the jewels in a dazzling St Albans crown.

“We just didn’t expect there to be an actual jewel involved too.”

Next, BID are organising a St Albans Nutcracker Trail over the Christmas period. People will need to find 15 giant nutcracker soldiers and one king around the city and neighbouring villages.

Each soldier has a different name and once players have found all their details and written them in a special trail booklet, it should be slotted into the St Albans Nutcracker Trail post box by the Christmas Market in the Vintry Gardens.

It will run from November 25 2017 to January 4 2018. The winning prize is an iPad mini and will be drawn out of a hat. Pick up a nutcracker trail booklet to take part.