A mother-of-five has been left devastated in the US after her husband accidentally sold her diamond wedding ring for US$10 - the equivalent of €7.50.

Racquel Cloutier, 31, was in hospital after the birth of her fifth child when her husband Eric decided to get rid of some unwanted household items at a garage sale.

But he was unaware that his wife had been storing her precious ring - worth around US$22,000 (€16,506) - in an old watch box he decided to sell. Mrs. Cloutier went into a panic when she discovered the ring was gone on her return home four days later.

She told ABC News "I go into my husband's closet, can't find the box, and then he tells me he sold it. I said, 'You sold it? What do you mean you sold it?' I immediately started crying."

Mr. Cloutier said he feels "really terrible" about the accidental sale.

His wife said "Every year our community holds a garage sale. I was in the hospital, I just had a baby, so my husband thought it would be fun for my other kids if they could sell some things at the garage sale. He didn't know that before I went to the hospital, I put my ring in that box. I wanted the ring to be in a safe place and out of reach from my two-year-old twins."

The box was apparently bought by a blonde woman - and the couple hope she will now return the ring.

Fighting back tears, Mrs. Cloutier said "I'm very, very, very upset. I'm trying to remain optimistic but I don't know anymore. There's a small chance whoever bought the box doesn't know the ring is in there. I would never, ever keep the ring if I had found it. If you're honest, you're honest. Clearly, the ring was in the box by accident."