A paddleboarder treated a team of divers to a pint in the pub after they found his lost wedding ring in a river.
Ant Crocker donned some goggles and tried to find the missing ring himself, but to no avail.
The 34-year-old firefighter was paddleboarding near Cardington Lock in Bedford when he realised his precious ring had plunged into the River Great Ouse.
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He had been married to his wife, Danielle, for just over a year.
Ant said: “I tried swimming down, but visibility was poor at the bottom.
“And being two to three metres down, I needed to come up for air by the time I got down.”
Realising he would need to call in a team of professionals or face a lengthy spell in the doghouse, Ant opted for the former.
He sent a WhatsApp message to Bedford Scuba Divers asking for their help last Friday (25 Jul).
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The following morning, coordinator Mags Martin assembled a crack team of divers comprising Tony Pugh, Tracy Humphreys, and her daughter, Becks Martin.
They needed just 10 minutes in the 8-foot-deep water before Becks saw the band of gold glint in the light of her underwater torch.
She surfaced with the ring in her hand, and Ant couldn’t hide his joy.
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He hugged the damp divers and treated them to a pint down the pub.
Ant said: “I didn’t think they would find it, as I’d swum to the bottom and saw how rocky it was.
“I thought that the ring had most definitely slipped down a gap in the rocks.
“So when I saw Becks come up after about 10 minutes with the ring in her hand, I was over the moon.
“I didn’t think they would find it, so when they did, I gave them all a hug even though they were soaking wet.”
As well as a tipple down the local boozer, Ant gave the scuba club a donation, as reported by What’s The Jam.
Becks Martin said: “This is the third time Bedford Scuba Divers have received a request for help like this – and we’ve got a 100% success rate with wedding ring recovery.
“Members of the club are beginning to call me the Queen of the Ring.
Becks also said that she dropped her car keys while walking to the dive site and only realised after her return.
Luckily, a local passerby found the keys and left them with her car.
She said: “That’s karma!”
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