Stolen police medal found by Northampton magnet fishermen

The medal was presented to former PC Geoffrey Barron, now 82, when he retired after 32 years

An 82-year-old former police officer is being reunited with his stolen long service medal after magnet fishermen found it in a river.

The prized medal was presented to Geoffrey Barron when he retired from Northamptonshire Police after 32 years, at the age of 54.

It was stolen last year and he had given up hope of seeing it again, the Northampton Chronicle reported.

Fishermen found it in the River Nene and will return it to him on Saturday.

The medal, congratulating PC Barron on his "exemplary police service", was taken with a number of other items when the Northampton home he shares with wife Maureen was ransacked in December.

Geoffrey Barron served in Northamptonshire for more than 30 years

It came to light after Dave Jordan decided to gather some fellow magnet fishermen together and clear part of the River Nene in Northampton on 22 October.

"I do mass litter pick-ups from rivers, and this time my friends Dean Davenport and his son Ryan came down from Nottingham to help," Mr Jordan told the BBC.

Dave Jordan and friends had been clearing the river of rubbish when they found the medal

"When we'd cleared it, they went in with their magnets and we found this medal.

"If I'd walked past that rubbish like everyone else does, we'd never have found it."

Dave Jordan (right) and his friends found the medal buried in silt in the river

The medal had Mr Barron's name inscribed on it and they managed to track down the former officer.

"His wife said his face just lit up when she told him," Mr Jordan said.

"He'd been most upset but this is so amazing - it's like a reward for what we do, because really, this is all about clearing the rivers."

Geoffrey and Maureen Barron will be reunited with the medal at the weekend

Mrs Barron, 72, said: "We couldn't believe it when we got the call. We never dreamt we'd get the medal back.

"It was a chance in a million. That medal is so important to him - being in the police was a huge part of his life."

Mr Jordan and his friends are taking the medal back to the Barrons on Saturday and Mr Jordan plans to film the reunion for his YouTube channel.