World War One medal united with late soldier's family

Jake Cressey (left) and Danny Smith met for the handover of the medal

A family has been reunited with a lost World War One medal, after it was found by a metal detectorist who managed to track them down.

Jake Cressey was hunting for metal in Chailey, East Sussex, in September when he came across the British War Medal.

After cleaning it up he discovered a serial number and the name Lewis Smith which he used to find an old address.

Through the powers of social media Mr Cressey was put in touch with the soldier's grandson Danny Smith.

Mr Smith, who was shown the post on Facebook, said: "I thought 'you've got to be kidding me, that's my grandfather'.

"I'm very grateful to Jake. Military history is very important to me.

"It degrades the memory of people if we start selling stuff for our own personal gain."

Lewis Smith served in the Durham Light Infantry, then the Labour Corp

Mr Cressey, 27, said it was lucky he found the medal when he did.

"My missus called me asking me to come home but I said 'let me have five more minutes' and the medal was the next thing I found."

The doorman said it was "in a bad way", so he sought advice on a metal detecting Facebook group on cleaning it up without damaging it.

Lewis Smith's British War Medal

Then social media "went mad" with people helping track down the right Mr Smith and his family.

"It's the best thing I've ever found," he said.

The pair met on Friday and Mr Smith showed Mr Cressey his grandfather's birth certificate, proof of address and a photo before the medal was handed over.

Mr Cressey goes out with his metal detector a few times a week

Mr Smith said: "The whole family is amazed. My grandfather has one daughter still alive, my auntie, and she was very tearful and over the moon with the news.

"We've got absolutely nothing else of him - they were a poor family - so it will go on display in her house."

But the find is not without a pinch of mystery.

Mr Smith was awarded the medal in 1921, but nobody is sure how the medal ended up buried in Chailey, 14 miles from his Brighton home.