Richard Higham, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 10

Sunday. The sun is shining, the tide will be low. I thought it would be a perfect day to head off to make yet another attempt to find a lost watch on Boscombe Beach. As I was getting off the Chain ferry I received a phone call from Leo Fung of Bournemouth.

Leo, his new wife and friends had been enjoying the weather on the beach having been married only 24 hours earlier. Whilst playing with a football, Leo felt the ring slip off and caught a glimpse of its direction. They searched the beach extensively for a while until someone remembered seeing me on the BBC news. A quick Google search on their smartphone revealed my number, a phone call and I arrived within half an hour. Within 30 seconds we found the ring, new shiny and very nearly lost. It was the heaviest white gold ring I think I have ever recovered and I’m very relieved to have recovered it for them.

Mr & Mrs Fung made a kind donation to the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance to which I am most grateful.

After reading an article in the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance magazine of my Ring Finder services; Mr Brian Marchment of Somerset decided to give me a chance to find his wedding band he had lost 3 months earlier.

The drive was long, three hours in fact, accidents, diversions and road closures too!  The location was easy to find, the garden was even easier to navigate. Tidy flower beds, stone walls, gravel paths and many uncomplicated areas that seemed easy to detect.

After speaking with Mr Marchment about the day of his loss and replaying it, we decided where the search was to begin. Within 30 seconds of searching, between the brick path boundaries and grass the detector let off the gold ‘growl’. Laying out of sight, camouflaged by the gravel, lay our ring.  Mr & Mrs Marchment were very pleased having been married decades and made a generous donation to the air ambulance.

Emily from Southampton owned a very special silver ring. It was only silver but one she valued greatly. It had been especially engraved and given to her as a gift from her grandmother. After enjoying a day on the beach she brushed off some sand from her fingers… off slipped the ring! She saw the spot where it sank but her and her friends efforts to try to retreive it only made it sink further. I sympathise with all those who have lost something dear I cant imagine how it must feel to lose something that dear to you.

The location of the lost ring was relatively small – about half the size of a tennis court. The beach was very trashy but nevertheless after one hour I found it. Emily was so pleased to have her ring back and raise money too for the Air Ambulance she held her own Cake Sale at work. Thanks Emily for going out of your way to help.

Received a call from a Mr Kenny Rodman from Southbourne, Dorset. After spending a few hours on the beach Kenny decided to cool off in the sea. He had been enjoying a family day out on the beach with wife Amanda and son Cameron. Whilst only a few feet out he hsad the sensation his wedding band felt loose so clenched his fingers tight. However, leaving the beach almost on all fours he felt the ring come off and slip beneath the waves. Understandibly he returned on several occasions scouring the sand hoping by some miricle it would reveal itself. Alas it didnt. It was his wife Amanda who sort the help of The Ring Finders and I met Kenny the following morning. No sooner than my coil entered the water it gave an almost indistinguishable tone of gold so I decided to scoop it. Luckily I was right as the ring had buried itself some 8″ under due to the breaking waves. Kenny and his wife were extremely pleased at the rings return, Kenny is no longer in the dog house and a generous donation to the Air Ambulance was made by them.

Holidaymakers Mr & Mrs Craig Petty from Shrewesbury spent a great day on Swanage Beach. The weather was fine, warm and idyllic  for your typical British ‘getaway’.   Unfortunately though brushing off the sand lead Craig to also brushing off his ring. His desperate search, sifting through the sands caught the attention of a particular lady near by. She had successfully used me and the Ring Finders only weeks before for her daughter in law Hollie Lawrence.

I assured Craig not to worry, put a towel over the location and id be there a few hours later. Sure enough the ring was there, HAD sunk deeper due to the previous sifting and back on his finger within minutes. A very grateful Mr Petty made a kind donation to the Air Ambulance.

Whilst enjoying rock climbing on the scenic cliffs of Portland, Dorset with his wife and friends- Mr Phil Haigh accidentally spilled the contents of his rucksack down the rocky slopes. Unfortunately the wedding ring he had so carefully placed in there also fell from the bag and seemingly disappeared. A friend of his read on Facebook of his loss of his wedding ring and gave him the Ring Finders address after seeing the recent Television story.

The walk down the slopes was breathtakingly beautiful and walk to the location was difficult in places. The ring was recovered in seconds in the long grass and a very appreciative Mr Haigh and wife made a very generous donation to the Air Ambulance to which I am most grateful.

The 8th August 2013 had been a beautiful day in Swanage. The high temperatures and school holidays had brought many to the beach to enjoy the sun, sea and sand. All though, bar one lady- Mrs Pamela Knight on holiday to see friends for a few days. She had dropped and lost her ring into the sand and watched in horror as it quickly sank and disappeared.

I knew this time of year and idyllic conditions brought the beach treasure hunters down in their masses so time was against us. Arriving the same day at the location already there were four other detectorists combing the beach-luckily they hadn’t found it and within 10 minutes I found her lost ring in the sand.

Mrs Knight was overwhelmed as she thought she would never see her lost ring again. She paid me a huge thanks and made a kind donation to the Air Ambulance.