A man who lost his wedding ring in the sea just three weeks after he said “I do” was reunited with his jewellery thanks to a helpful metal detectorist.

Tom Paul, from Wateringbury, a village near Maidstone, thought he would never see his precious wedding band again after it disappeared from his finger while he was taking a dip in Eastbourne.

The 30-year-old said: “Myself, my wife and my 19-month-old son, TJ, had gone to the Eastbourne air show on August 20.

“The weather was nice, it was a hot day, so TJ and I went into the sea. After we’d finished I looked down and my wedding ring was gone. I’d only been married three weeks at the time!”

Tom and his 28-year-old partner, Eilish, had only just tied the knot on July 29 and – to add salt to the wound – the day after his ring disappeared their wedding certificate arrived through the post.

He continued: “I remember the day I lost the ring so well because not only did I lose my ring but the Lionesses also lost the World Cup.

“It felt like I had a heart attack when I looked down and noticed my ring was gone.

“My wife took its loss quite well. She said ‘no one’s died’ but I felt like I was going to be killed when I got home.

“We were both gutted but we forgot about it because we just assumed we’d never see it again.”

Tom’s ring cost £700, but he said it was the sentimental value that he was most sad about.

He explained: “I thought my ring was lost forever but yesterday on Tuesday, September 19, I had this weird feeling about my ring and decided to search Facebook to see if any rings had been found in the area.”

Tom said it was only after he’d seen three posts in an Eastbourne beach lost and found Facebook group that he saw his ring.

The dad explained: “I saw a ring that looked exactly like the one I had lost.

“I began messaging the finder, a man called Paul Crone.

“He runs a group called Lost on the beach and with his metal detector he often reunites people with their lost belongings.”

After messaging back and forth and confirming Tom’s ownership of the ring Paul offered to post the wedding band to Tom.

However, Tom felt the metal detectorist had already done enough and drove himself to Paul’s home in Bexhill in Eastbourne yesterday.

“The ring is now back on my finger, myself, my friends and family can’t believe how lucky I am.

“I want to say thank you so much to Paul. Words can not justify how thankful I am. Keep up the great work.”

Paul has been reuniting people with their lost treasures for the past 10 years.

The 50-year-old said: “I began helping people find things they’d lost after an elderly lady contacted me about four or five rings she’d lost down the beach – I managed to reunite her with all of them.

“My main interest is metal detecting on land, looking for things like old coins. I don’t actually like the beach.

“However, helping people find things they’ve lost isn’t a rare occurence.

“I have an 80% success rate, especially if people get in touch and tell me when and where they’ve lost something.”

To learn more about Paul’s work, search for the Lost on the Beach Facebook page.