Star Wars and Bond actor Rufus Wright's wedding ring found by Frinton detectorist

Metal detectorist Adam Ferguson accepted the thanks of actor Rufus Wright

A wedding ring lost by a Star Wars and James Bond actor on a beach has been found by a metal detectorist.

Rufus Wright, who appeared in Quantum of Solace and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story lost his ring while swimming at Frinton, Essex, on 1 June.

He eventually gave up searching and put a plea on social media, offering a £100 reward as the Clacton Gazette reported.

Metal detectorist Adam Ferguson found it but refused the reward, giving it instead to the RNLI and the NHS.

The actor, who had gone to Frinton with his wife, actor Melanie Gutteridge, and their son, told the BBC: "I could have kicked myself when I lost the ring."

The actor was swimming at Frinton Beach when he lost his gold wedding ring

Wright said he thought there might be "a 5% chance" of ever getting his engraved wedding band back

"I had tied it to the drawstring of my shorts but it fell off in the shallow water and I spent more than an hour scrabbling around on my hands and knees trying to find it, but it was gone.

"I was really upset, but my wife kept saying, 'it's only a thing'."

The Star Wars actor signed publicity shots for Mr Ferguson's son and nephew

The family went back to their Walthamstow home, in London, where Wright said his wife took to social media, plotting on a map exactly where the ring was lost, and asking if any detectorists might be able to help.

Mr Ferguson, who runs Clacton Metal Detecting Club stepped in and the next day spent two hours knee-deep in water searching "until I saw something glinting".

Mr Ferguson spent hours looking for the ring with his metal detector

"I was over the moon, and so was Rufus when I sent him a photo," Mr Ferguson said.

"The local lifeboat chap said it was a one-in-a-million chance of finding something like that."

About a fortnight later the family went back to Frinton to collect the ring and give the reward money to Mr Ferguson, who handed it over to two charities.

Since news of his success broke, Mr Ferguson said he has had several requests to find lost jewellery.

"I'm like the local beachcomber now, "he said.