Metal detectorist finds ring lost in sea off Bournemouth

Mr Higham said reuniting Mr Cross with his wedding ring was incredibly rewarding

A man who lost his wedding ring in the sea off Dorset said he was "completely elated" when it was found by a metal detectorist who came to his aid.

Dan Cross lost the ring after diving into the waves in Bournemouth on Monday during a family day out.

The next day, Richard Higham, who he found through a metal detectorist website, spent two hours searching under the water.

Mr Cross confessed that he cried when Mr Higham produced the ring.

Mr Higham said Mr Cross had been very specific about where he lost the ring

Mr Cross, from Bournemouth, said he spent an hour searching the seabed using his six-year-old daughter's swimming goggles before turning to the web to search for metal detector equipment - it was then he stumbled across the Ring Finders online directory and contacted Mr Higham.

He said: "What a great chap, he was so positive - he put a lot of hope back in."

Mr Higham arrived at Southbourne beach from Swanage on Tuesday evening with a wetsuit, snorkel and sub-aqua metal detector and after two hours and a lot of digging, recovered the gold ring.

Mr Cross said: "I was completely elated and the emotion hit me - I got a bit of a tear in my eye and I couldn't believe it."

He said his wife, Shenay, also cried when he sent her a photo of the ring on WhatsApp.

Mr Higham, who only asks for travel costs and a donation to charity in return for his efforts, said: "I've never seen a man so emotional and it's people like him who inspire me to go to the lengths that I go to.

"It's such a nice feeling to help people find things that they thought were lost forever.

"Although the tides do move rings around and they do drop down deeper and deeper past the range of the detector, his positive attitude and determination to get the ring back meant I felt confident it would be possible."