Stockport couple's lost engagement ring found by metal detectorist
- Published
Marc Robinson, pictured centre, rushed to the couple's aid after seeing their appeal on Facebook
A couple who spent the first hours of their beach engagement searching for the ring after it fell into the sand have thanked a metal detectorist for saving the day.
Joe McGrath and his fiancée Becky feared they had lost the ring forever shortly after he popped the question.
But Mr McGrath's plea for help on Facebook was seen by Marc Robinson, who was able to find the ring in minutes.
"We celebrated like you've never seen," said Mr McGrath, from Stockport.
"Obviously we can laugh now but at the time it was chaos."
The couple, along with Becky's mother, spent hours sifting through the sand
Mr McGrath, 26, had decided to propose to his 28-year-old girlfriend of five years on the beach close to where she grew up in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, on Friday.
It had all gone perfectly until the couple started to pack everything away and the ring fell and disappeared into the sand.
"At first I thought it was going to be one of those things that we will laugh about and we will find it straight away but, five minutes in, I started to think 'crikey this is scary now'," Mr McGrath said.
As their panic grew, the pair decided to turn to Facebook marketplace where he was able to buy a metal detector for £20 from a woman who lived a 10-minute drive away.
"It just didn't work at all. I don't know what it was finding but it certainly wasn't finding metal," he added.
Determined to find the missing ring, Mr McGrath decided to turn to Facebook once again and found a local metal detecting group where he posted a plea for help.
Mr Robinson saw the couple's plight and volunteered to help, finding the ring within two minutes of arriving at the beach.
Mr McGrath said he wanted to thank Mr Robinson for taking the time to help find the ring.
"I've been planning this for ages and I'd thought about everything. Well, everything apart from the fact that the ring could go missing," he said.
"I just want to say that Marc is a legend and was our guardian angel that day. We will never forget him."
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