A WEDDING ring lost seven years ago has finally been reunited with its owner after being spotted at low tide in Weymouth.

Steve Woolford, owner of Bussells Yacht Chandlers based on Hope Street in Weymouth, made the discovery on Saturday while walking along the quay at low tide.

The silver band wedding ring belonged to South Western Ambulance paramedic Mark Thorne, who lost it seven years ago when responding to a Weymouth Lifeboat shout.

Afterwards, Mark and friends went down to the quay every month to search for it, but had no luck.

Steve told the Echo: “We had a very low spring tide in Weymouth on Saturday and as I was walking along the quay something caught my eye in the mud.

“I climbed down the ladder to investigate it and it turned out to be the wedding ring that my good friend Mark lost seven years ago or more.

“The ring has now been reunited with him and I'm chuffed. The tide was really low with a clear sea bottom and no weeds at all, which is probably why it was so easy to spot.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted it. I put a post on Facebook to Mark asking him if the ring was his; he rang me back and was speechless.

“It was such a great feeling to give the wedding ring back to him after all these years. He must have resigned himself to the fact that he lost it.”

Mark, who is also former theatre stage manager for Weymouth Pavilion, said he lost the wedding ring in the harbour during a lifeboat shout.

He added: “When I lost the ring seven years ago I searched in dry suits with some fellow crew but found nothing.

“I even employed a man with a metal detector to help find it and went down every month on low spring tides to no avail.

“Luckily the ring does still fit but it was always slightly loose. Every time I got a lifeboat shout I would move it to my right hand because it fitted better on that hand when my hands got cold.

“But it pinged off and plopped into the harbour.

“I really did believe it was gone until Steve found it on Saturday, seven years later. I’d like to say a massive thank you to him for continuing to look, even after I'd given up finding it.”

Ken Francis, press officer for Weymouth RNLI, said Mark worked as a member of the Weymouth lifeboat crew at the time he lost the ring.

He added: “We’re really pleased after such a long time that Mark has been reunited with his ring. I’m sure Mark and his wife Sarah will be really pleased about it.”