Divers have made an underwater rescue to reunite a Mansfield Woodhouse couple with a valuable gold ring and family heirloom lost at Rufford Abbey Country Park’s lake.

Julie and Stephen Turner contacted Nottinghamshire County Council’s rangers after losing the ring while feeding ducks from a wooden bridge.
The rangers were unable to retrieve the ring but allowed the couple’s family friend, Phil Elson, and his diving team to search the water.

Following a meeting with the council’s Linda Hardy and John Clegg at Rufford to understand more about the geography of the lake, Phil and his colleagues from
The Tribe Scuba, Southglade Business Park, Nottingham, entered the water and found the ring within 10 minutes using an underwater metal detector.

Julie’s niece, Holly, had diving lessons with the scuba group and put her in touch with Phil, who undertook the rescue for free.

Julie, 47, said: “I was distraught when it happened. As we were feeding bread to the ducks the ring slipped off my finger and into the water.

“The rangers tried to retrieve it that afternoon but to no avail, so we got in touch with the diving experts to see if they could help.

“We love visiting Rufford and everyone at the council and The Tribe Scuba has been helpful. It has been a difficult few weeks not knowing if we could get it back – we are elated.”

The ring first belonged to Stephen’s grandmother, Doris Gill, who left it to her daughter, Eileen Turner, after her death aged 102 in 2008. Eileen died two years later.

The 14 carat ring has a large opal stone held together by four large clasps and is worth around £500.

Phil said: “I was confident we could get it back, but the water is very silty so it was very dark and we had to work inch by inch. The support of the rangers was vital to help build up a picture of where the ring was.”

Coun John Knight, committee chairman for culture at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We are delighted we were able to go the extra mile to help. The ring has been in the family since the 1930s so we are pleased with the outcome.”