This metal detectorist unveils lost treasures he finds with a Lego version of himself

By Lauren Beavis via SWNS

Meet the metal detectorist who finds people's lost treasures and rings for free and marks his discoveries with a Lego version of himself.

Steve Andrews, 48, finds everything from engagement bands to World War II artillery shells.

Steve, from Jersey, UK set up Facebook page Jersey Lost Ring Metal Detecting dedicated to helping others find their lost valuables.

The father-of-two is also renowned for taking a photo of his finds with a Lego replica of himself - featuring matching clothes and a little metal detector.

Steve, who does not charge for his work, says what he enjoys most about the activity "is re-uniting people with their items."

He explained: "The Lego man is just a nice thing to send to people - I find their item and take a photo as a sort of 'I've found it!'

"I got it as a jokey present from my sister - and it just stuck."

Steve added: "I’ve had some great experiences since I started my metal detecting to return people’s lost items.

"Wedding and engagement rings are, of course, very special to people, but I have also been able to return items of extremely important sentimental value as they have links to people who have passed away."

A metal detectorist finds people's lost treasures and marks his discoveries with a lego version of himself. (Steve Andrews via SWNS)

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Steve has gone to great lengths to reunite vacationers and locals with their valuables - and quite often it is him who makes the initial contact for those in distress.

Steve, who is a firefighter with the Jersey Fire and Rescue Service, has followed local lost and found groups on Facebook and will offer help to people when a "search with a metal detector is appropriate."

Back in May, he responded to a callout on one of these sites, for a man who had lost his gold wedding ring on St Brelades Beach whilst swimming in the sea.

He explained: "I asked him for information that would help with the search: what point on land he was out from, what time the ring was lost, and how deep the water was where he lost it.

"From this I can look at tide tables and plan a search.

"That search actually required me to be on the beach at 3:30 in the morning - but it all worked out and I found Matt’s ring 160m down the beach at just after 5 A.M.

"My wife and I met Lucy and Matt at the hotel to return Matt’s ring and it was lovely to have a chat with them".

Steve's finds have ranged from just a ten-minute search to eight hours to never finding the items at all - but the dedicated detectorist has developed a reliable track record over his years of service.

Another trip found Steve assisting a local surfer who had lost her engagement ring in the sea whilst riding waves with "big swells and strong currents" - a mission that seems pretty impossible for someone without Steve's expertise.

Steve admitted: "I never have much luck on that beach searching for people’s lost rings, but I started a search."

After looking for a staggering six hours on the first day with no luck, Steve persevered, and upon his return onto the beach the next day, he found the treasure two hours into a search on the next day - 240 meters down the beach.

Steve said: "A few months later my wife and I met Kat and her fiancé, Jack, again at a mutual friend’s wedding and it was great to talk about the experience.

"They have since married and I’m so pleased that she was able to wear her original engagement ring on the day".

Steve does not only embark in sentimental searches, however, for his other detecting niche embraces his interest in British Victorian bullets and WWII artillery fuzes from when Jersey was occupied by German forces during World War II.

Steve explained: "I have always had an interest in all things military and my local beach has a rich military history.

"Jersey was a remote outpost during Britain’s wars with France and was heavily defended, so it is not uncommon to find cannonballs while metal detecting, most of which were fired in training.

"During the Second World War, the island was turned into a fortress, forming a key part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.

"Since taking up metal detecting I have been amazed by the amount of relics from the occupation that there are on the beaches.

With regards to the future of Steve's detecting, he says he will keep maintaining his hobby "as long as I am physically able to."