A kind-hearted metal detecting enthusiast came to the rescue of property developer Garry Nixon when he dropped his wedding ring in a pool of mud on a building site.

Garry, 26, of Askham Richard, a director of Nixon Homes Ltd, lost the ring while inspecting the site in Askham Bryan.

He said: "I was just coming out of a property along a plank and had my arms out for balance.

"The ring just flew off my finger and landed in a good 15 inches of mud and slop.

"Three of us spent the rest of that afternoon trying to find it. We used a metal detector but that was no cop and in the end it got dark and I decided to call off the search."

Garry got in touch with a metal detecting enthusiast from Selby, a member of York and District Metal Detecting Club.

The man, who does not wish to be named, agreed to help him free of charge.

While Garry anxiously anticipated the resumption of his own search, he spent a stressful evening trying to conceal the ring's disappearance from his wife Kirsty, who he married in July last year.

He said: "Cunningly, I left the office with a key ring fob on my finger as an imitation one. We had to go out that night and I was just going to say I'd forgotten to wear it but luckily she didn't notice."

Back at the building site the next day, Garry's saviour soon pinpointed two areas where he thought the ring could be lurking.

Garry said: "We sifted through about five buckets of slop and found it.

"It was a miracle - it was amazing.

"I'm very grateful to him. He saved me a lot of money, a lot of grief and a lot of hassle.

"Needless to say my wife would have killed me and I had got to the point where I thought I was going to have to buy the house so that I could find it one day.

"She thought it was quite funny in the end but that was probably because I'd got it back."

* This is the second time the metal detectors' club may just have saved a marriage.

Chairman Paul Roberts drove 30 miles to help Knaresborough newly-wed Melanie Archer-Smith when she lost her gold wedding ring and solitaire diamond engagement ring after a night out. He found them both on Christmas Eve.

Updated: 08:45 Monday, January 29, 2001