Retired police officer’s exemplary service medal which was stolen in burglary is found at bottom of river by magnet fisher in ‘one-in-a-million’ discovery

• Geoffrey Barron, 82, was given the medal for ‘long service and good conduct’
• But it was stolen in December 2021 during a burglary while he was at a wedding
• Last week a teenage magnet fisher found it lying at the bottom of a river 
• Wife Maureen said she was ‘over the moon’  to hear the medal had been found 

A retired police officer who was heartbroken when thieves stole his service medal was left stunned after it was pulled out of a river in a ‘one-in-a-million’ discovery.

Geoffrey Barron, 82, was devastated when burglars ransacked his home last December and took his treasured medal, certifying the length of his service, which had been awarded to him when he retired in 1994.

The pensioner from Kingsthorpe served for 32 years in Northamptonshire Police, and he and his wife Maureen, 72, believed the medal was lost forever following the raid.

But they were ‘over the moon’ when they received a call last week saying the medal had been found in a river by magnet fisher and environmentalist Dave Jordan.

Mr Jordan, 45, organises river litter-picking days and has a large following of fans who subscribe to his magnet fishing channel on YouTube.

He was with a teenage fan Ryan and his dad, from Nottingham, who joined him to trawl for treasures in the River Nene last month. They cleared up litter from the river before beginning their search for metal items.

They had been searching the river in Northampton for just 30 minutes before Ryan fished out a blue metal box.

Geoffrey Barron served for 32 years with Northamptonshire Police, retiring in 1994

The medal is engraved with Geoffrey Barron’s name and police number, which enabled the Mr Jordan to track the couple down

Teenager Ryan (pictured) fished the blue box containing the medal out from the river after just 30 minutes

Inside was a medal which was engraved with Mr Barron’s name and police number which Mr Jordan used to tracked the pensioner down online.

He and Ryan, 17, are now planning to reunite Mr Barron, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, with his long-lost medal this weekend.

Mr Jordan said: ‘At first, we found old bits of trolleys and other metal items but about 30 minutes into our fish, Ryan pulled out the medal.

‘It was in a box, and it’s got ‘police long service medal’ written on it.

‘It really was like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s got a name engraved on the outer edge of the medal, so me and my partner went looking online and found in a directory a name and a phone number.

‘I bit the bullet and contacted the person, and it turned out that this medal was stolen in December 2021. Geoffrey’s wife Maureen was over the moon, she and Geoffrey never thought it would be found.

‘When I told Geoffrey’s wife we had found the medal over the phone, apparently his face lit up.

‘That means everything to me. They thought they would never see the medal again and now we can reunite it with them, it’s amazing.

‘This was truly the best reward for cleaning up that rubbish.’

It is believed the thieves dumped the box containing the medal in the river after realising it would be difficult to sell.

The Barrons have five grown-up children and six grandchildren and were at a family wedding when they were burgled.

Ms Barron said: ‘We were heartbroken when we came home and found our house burgled.

‘They had stolen jewellery, cash and our passports but the most sentimental thing we lost was Geoffrey’s police service medal.

‘We never thought we’d get it back for him. Then all of a sudden, Dave phoned up to say that he had pulled it out the river.

‘I couldn’t believe it. He described the medal, and I thought wow, that is Geoffrey’s medal. I was over the moon.

‘When I told Geoffrey about the medal being found, his little eyes sparkled. It was a one-in-a-million chance.

‘My husband has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t remember everything, but that medal to say he served for 32 years, he does remember.

‘His face lit up when I told him we got it and it was going to be presented to him by the young man who found it.

‘I can’t wait for Geoffrey to have the medal back in his hand again.’

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