A METAL-DETECTOR enthusiast has been hailed a hero after he miraculously reunited a new husband with his wedding ring which had been lost in the sea.

Toby Binnian, from Newbyth – between Tyninghame and Whitekirk – and Holly Clement got married on Saturday. 

But the ring (pictured below) plunged into the waters off Tyninghame during a swim the very next day.

East Lothian Courier:

Devastated, Holly sent a social media SOS to Dean Houston after she discovered the existence of East Lothian Metal Detecting Club.

And when Dean kindly agreed to sweep the wet sand at Tyninghame on Monday morning with his metal detector when the tide was out, he surprised even himself when he found what he described as a “needle in a haystack”. 

Holly, who grew up in Haddington, said it had been an eventful start to married life but they were delighted to once again be in possession of the cherished band. 

She said: “Toby was so upset that he lost it and it is more relief for him than anything else.

"Friends and family were devastated for him and we are just so happy to get the ring back.”

PE teacher Toby, 30, and dentist Holly, 29, first met while at school at Edinburgh Academy and have been together for 13 years.

They were married at the Log Cabin at Ravensheugh on Saturday and decided to mark their first full day as husband and wife with a swim at nearby Tyninghame.

East Lothian Courier:

Holly recalled: “All our friends arrived and we were on the beach going to go for a swim.

"We debated about whether to keep the ring on or off and we thought because it was quite a snug fit that it would be fine.

“Toby went out for a swim while we were jumping through the waves.

“I don’t know what possessed him but someone asked him if the ring was OK and he tested it to see whether it would go over his knuckle.

“Then, all of a sudden, it went plop into the water and he was panicking.

“It is a palladium ring and not a very bright white colour, so it disappeared into the murky waters and we were chest high in the water.”

Amongst the panic, the couple, who now live in York, decided to bring in outside help.

A search of Facebook brought up the newly-formed East Lothian Metal Detecting Club.

Holly said: “We just said: ‘Please help, my idiot new husband has dropped his ring in the sea.’”

She remained “blindly optimistic” of being reunited with the ring because they had a rough idea where it had fallen into the water.

Within an hour, the group got in touch and, after a check of tide times, arrived at the beach on Monday morning.

Holly said: “I had slightly given up hope and walked up to sit with family on the headland and stay out of the way.

“I just heard lots of cheering and we all sprinted down to check it was real.”

East Lothian Courier:

Dean, from the local metal detecting club, was delighted to be able to help and within an hour had tracked down the ring in the wet sand.

The Dunbar resident thought it would be like finding “a needle in a haystack” and added: “I was expecting an area of a couple of feet by a couple of feet but it was more like 30 or 40 feet square that they gave me.”

Dean was given a helping hand by his black Labrador Roxy.

He said: “My dog was digging holes and I just walked over and the metal detector beeped.

“They all started running up and giving me hugs, which is a bit embarrassing when you don’t know them!

“Then they were all trying to phone Toby.”

Holly said she was forever thankful to Dean, adding: “He was just so lovely, unassuming and he was just great.

“Toby is a little bit scared and does not know whether to keep the ring on or take it off!

“He is wearing it just now but he is thinking about getting it resized.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the metal detecting club should email elmdclub@yahoo.com or search for East Lothian Metal Detecting Club on Facebook.