WW2 veterans medals found after week-long search

Donald Nicholson, from Houghton-le-Spring, said he was "devastated" to lose the medals

Medals lost by a World War Two veteran have been handed in to a police station following an extensive week-long search.

Donald Nicholson, 93, said he was "devastated" when he realised the medals were missing a week ago.

He initially thought he lost them on the way to the unveiling of a Bomber Command memorial in Lincoln, or when he arrived at the event.

But the medals were handed in to his local police station in Tyne and Wear.

He now believes he dropped them when he was getting into a car as he left his home.

About 80 volunteers with metal detectors searched for the medals in a field in Lincoln

He said it will be "marvellous" to collect them from the police on Saturday.

"I couldn't have felt any better if I'd won the lottery," he said.

He is looking forward to wearing the medals on Remembrance Sunday, and has promised not to lose them again.

"It's a marvellous reunion but it's a clumsy thing that I've done," he said.

"I will take more care in future."

The volunteers with metal detectors came forward after an appeal by the International Bomber Command Centre

He said he wanted to thank everybody who had been involved in the search.

About 80 volunteers with metal detectors searched a field near the Bomber Command memorial on Friday afternoon.

But the search was called off after two hours, and everyone had given up hope of ever finding the medals when Mr Nicholson received a call from the police.

Speaking before the search began, Paul Jackson from Lincolnshire Historical Search Society said: "If I found them myself then it would be the proudest moment of my life other than the birth of my two kids."

Donald Nicholson was attending the unveiling of a memorial spire and walls of remembrance at the International Bomber Command Centre