TWO metal detectorists induced floods of tears when they reunited a bride with her diamond engagement ring – 18 months after she lost it.

Ted Little, 56, and his fellow detectorist Gavin O’Hara, of Colne, answered a social media plea from the woman after she lost her precious platinum and diamond ring while attending to her horse at a farm near Morecambe.

Ted and Gavin, who have been treasure hunting together with their detectors for around 18 months, travelled to the farm, along with other people willing to help last month.

Ted, an engineer of Cambridge Street, said: “I saw something on Facebook more than a year ago and made arrangements to travel up to help.

“We believed the ring was worth thousands and was obviously of great sentimental value.

“However, my detector got stolen so the plans fell through but in August I saw the bride still wanted people to help.”

Ted and Gavin spent four hours at the rural site after the bride described the movements she had made on the day she lost the ring.

Gavin, of Thorn Lane, said: “We were just walking back to the car, a bit downhearted when I got a strong signal.

“I dug down about four inches and there it was. It was an incredible feeling, we were both ecstatic.

“Locals there were saying where we found it had badly flooded twice since the ring was lost, so the find was even more unlikely.”

Gavin and Ted met the bride at a nearby pub where she tearfully placed the ring back on her finger.

Ted said: “The feeling we both got when we got to give it back to her was incredible. To see the bride so happy was a an experience money can’t buy.”

The bride said she was ‘absolutely devastated’ when she discovered she had lost it after her now husband sold his car to buy it for her.

She said: “I had about 10 detectorists up to find it, but nobody succeeded until Ted and Gavin.

“The field often gets flooded when the tide comes in, so I had come to to conclusion it had been taken out to sea or it had been dragged by a tractor. I said to them if they could not find it I would call it a day.

“They had been searching for a few hours when they phoned me and described it to me. I was in tears. I was shaking when I picked it up.

“They were such nice guys. I said I must give them a reward, but they said the look on my face was enough.”

The pair have said they are now looking for other locations to use their detectors.

Any land owners who will give their permission for them to practice their hobby can contact him on 07879 222338.