A Norfolk, England, family has asked a cathedral to return their lost tennis ball -- 91 years after it became lodged in a crevice.

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David Bell wrote the letter to Lincoln Cathedral officials as a joke, the BBC reported Saturday. His uncle, Gilbert Bell, threw the ball at the cathedral in 1914, and it became stuck in the moldings.

David Bell, whose family has made regular visits to the church to check on the ball, said he is concerned it might be dislodged by scaffolding. However, he said he hopes the ball will remain in place for future generations.

The ball is believed to be among the oldest surviving in Britain.

A cathedral spokesperson they had no plans to clean the stonework for at least 10 years, but would return the ball if it came out.