Meet the Lancing metal detectorist helping reunite residents with their treasured possessions

Mark Crane, 60, who has been combing the beaches in Worthing, Shoreham and Lancing since he was 16, has helped reunite countless owners with wedding rings, necklaces and bracelets – earning praise on local social media sites.

“It’s gone a bit nuts. I’ve unwittingly made a name for myself,” he said. “But it’s all for a good cause.”

His most recent success was finding a Tiffany ring on Shoreham Beach, west of the Church of the Good Shepherd, on Saturday.

The ring was lost on July 31 but due to being away with work – Mark is a first response emergency care practitioner who works on TV and film locations – he only began his search last week.

He scoured the beach on several occasions until, third time lucky, he uncovered it while the tide was out – much to the shock of its owners, who he said were left ‘totally gobsmacked’.

Mark said people’s gratitude when he reunites them with their lost items made it ‘all worthwhile’.

“I’m just happy for them. I’ve never personally lost anything of great value. I can only imagine how they’re feeling,” he said.

“To see the look on their faces when you give it back, it’s incredible.

“It’s putting a smile back on people’s faces.”

Mark added: “It’s not about the value of the thing, it’s the emotional connection. There’s always a back story and history.”

He once helped a woman in her 70s locate her engagement ring – her only momento of her late husband.

Another time, he returned a chunky gold bracelet to a man who told him it was made from his late mother’s jewellery, which he had had melted down.

While Mark’s searches are not always successful, he is usually able to find things, especially if people contact him quickly and know roughly where they have lost it.

Once he was able to help a young lady find her ring, which had belonged to her grandmother, in just four minutes.

However he said: “On the beach you’re always fighting against the weather.

“You get these days when it’s really, really rough and waves are pounding the beach and dragging the shingle out.”

Mark said part of the thrill of metal detecting was ‘the unknown’. “You never know what you’re going to get,” he said.

“It’s just an interesting hobby. It’s relaxing, it’s a bit of fun, it’s a good bit of exercise.”

In recent weeks his successful finds have been shared widely on social media – where he is often tagged in requests for help.

Mark believes, during these unsettling times: “To have a positive story, to have a positive outcome, people love that.”

While thankful residents often want to repay Mark, he refuses to profit – instead, he has set up a justgiving page where people can donate to St Barnabas House, the hospice which cared for both his father and uncle.

Going forward Mark, who is fascinated by history, is hoping to connect with local landowners and farmers to earn permission to search their land – and fulfil his dream of discovering a Roman or Anglo Saxon treasure.

“Humans beings have been dropping things for thousands of years,” he said, citing buckles, broaches, badges, votive offerings and hoards of treasure as items that others have found.

While some unscrupulous treasure hunters or ‘night hawks’ give others a bad name, Mark stressed he was dedicated to using his metal detector in a responsible way and reporting any findings through the appropriate legal channels.

To donate to his fundraiser for St Barnabas House, click here.