When Pippa contacted us through our website, the desperation in her message was clear. She had lost her great-grandmother’s ring on Broadsands Beach in Paignton – not just any ring, but a precious family heirloom with an extraordinary history spanning four generations.

The story began over a century ago when Pippa’s great-grandfather found a pendant on a racecourse in India. He transformed it into a beautiful ring and presented it to his wife. From that moment, it became a treasured family heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter through the generations. Remarkably, Pippa’s grandmother had only given her this precious ring just two days before it was lost.

A Race Against Time and Tide

“I am devastated about losing it and I don’t know what else to do,” Pippa wrote in her initial message. She had searched frantically in the dark and returned at 5 am as the tide was coming in, but the ring had vanished beneath the sand.

Understanding the urgency and the emotional significance of this loss, club members Gavin and Clive immediately sprang into action. They arranged to meet Pippa at noon on Broadsands Beach, working around the tidal conditions to maximise their chances of success.

Five Minutes to a Miracle

Despite the busy beach packed with holidaymakers, Pippa had managed to narrow down the search area to approximately 5 square metres. What happened next was nothing short of remarkable – within just five minutes of starting their search, Clive’s detector located the precious ring.

The moment was deeply emotional. Pippa burst into tears of relief and joy, and the entire beach erupted in spontaneous applause as they witnessed this incredible reunion between a family and their treasured heirloom.

More Than Just Metal Detection

This successful recovery demonstrates what makes our club’s free lost property service so special. It’s not just about the technology or expertise – it’s about understanding that behind every “lost item” is a human story, sometimes spanning generations.

For Pippa, this wasn’t just a ring recovered from the sand. It was the restoration of a four-generation family legacy, a tangible connection to her great-grandfather’s discovery on a distant racecourse in India, and the continuation of a story that will now be passed down to future generations.

If you’ve lost something precious in the South Devon area, don’t give up hope. Contact us – we’re here to help, and like Pippa, you might find that what seems lost forever can be found again.

The Newton Abbot District Metal Detecting Club provides a free lost property recovery service throughout the Teignbridge and South Hams area. We don’t charge for this service, though we appreciate donations toward travel costs for longer distances.

This is a private page accessible to Club Members Only.

Using this map is 100% optional. The purpose of this map is to encourage lift sharing by letting others know roughly where you are based.

Please read the further information on the forum page: https://nadmdc.co.uk/community/questions-about-the-old-and-new-websites/car-share-map/

If you are new to metal detecting and do not yet have any permissions, then the best places to go metal detecting are the foreshores that are owned by the Crown.

The Crown estate has given permission to metal detect on their foreshore as detailed in this document. (https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/2762/terms-and-conditions-of-metal-detecting.pdf) The following link to their website contains more detail as well as a link to their Foreshore and Estuary Map showing permissible locations.
https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/what-we-do/on-the-seabed/coastal/metal-detecting-and-drone-flying/

Be careful though to check local bylaws as some local councils have the right to manage the beaches and may have their own regulations on metal detecting. In theory these will be good sites as people will have lost coins and rings, however they are popular detecting sites regularly picked clean by local detectorists. The salt water and sandy conditions do provide some unique detecting experiences and offer a great place to practise.

If you are interested in discovering artefacts, then rural sites near habitation and ancient roads are ideal. The best sites are near were there has been past human occupation, such as fields and woods near farms and villages, as there is a higher chance that things have been lost there. It is wise to do some research looking at field systems, old roads, tithe maps and lidar to build up a picture of what has happened in the past. This knowledge is useful when approaching a local landowner for a permission because it shows that you care and not just any Tom, Dick or Harry. (No offence meant to Tom and Dick in the club, at the time of writing we do not have a Harry)

The technique for detecting a field varies from person to person, some prefer to detect the edges first and then across the middle, others the high ground. The key is to try and understand the landscape, how it was used and evolved. There is likely to be more signals along paths and around entrances to the fields. The challenge is that these areas often have more iron waste like gate fittings, wire and bits-off-a-tractor (BOAT) potentially shielding good signals, and surfaces near gates are harder to dig. You are more likely to discover artefacts in arable land that has been recently ploughed as the ploughing churns up objects that may have been too deep for easy detection. Archaeologists are understandably nervous about metal detection and digging when finds are taken out of context, however ploughing has been proven to be highly destructive, so as long as you are properly reporting finds, and hold off and call for help when you find a hoard or something significant then you are rescuing our history.

A good place to metal detect is on Club digs. The club will have gained the necessary permissions and you can get a lot of useful advice and tips from other members who are happy to help.