A metal detectorist from Dorchester has been helping reunite people with their lost jewellery.
When he’s not unearthing ancient coins and artefacts in Dorset’s fields, Keith Brown has been stepping up to help people desperate to find their lost jewellery.
Retired prison officer Keith recently helped a woman named Jenny from Cattistock find her Victorian wedding band that she lost while gardening and helped a man who lost his wedding ring at Ringstead Bay.
Keith said: “I had an email from a woman in Cattistock saying she had lost this heirloom gold and diamond encrusted Victorian era ring while she was gardening.
“I was happy to take a look and duly turned up with my metal detecting equipment. As I was setting up my metal detector Jenny went indoors and, within minutes, I had already found an out of circulation decimal £1 coin, a small copper alloy harness ring and a copper nail, and then I found what I was looking for – the ring.
“When Jenny came back out into the garden, I opened one hand with the junk in it and she looked and sighed, then I opened my other hand with her beautiful gold and diamond ring in it. She was jumping up and down with excitement and hugged me. It was so heart-warming to see her and her husband’s reaction as she placed the ring back on her finger.”
Keith also recently helped an elderly gentleman find his wedding band after he lost it at Ringstead Bay, adding: “This man has been married for over 40 years, so he was overjoyed to get his ring back.
“It’s a really good feeling when somebody has been devastated by a loss to give them their lost jewellery back.”
Keith has been an avid metal detectorist for the last six years, saying he took up the hobby as a way of keeping active and doing something fun in his spare time.
Documenting his finds on his YouTube channel Hopeus Maximus, Keith has unearthed various ancient artefacts in Dorset’s fields including golden Iron Age coins, Roman denarius and an ornate golden ram’s head brooch.
Many of Keith’s finds are on display at the county museum in Dorchester.