Northampton pensioner 'unbelievably' reunited with stolen police force medal after fisherman finds it in River Nene

A Northampton pensioner has “unbelievably” been reunited with a stolen police force medal after a fisherman found it in a river in the town.

Geoffrey J Barron had his Kingsthorpe house burgled in December of last year, which saw thieves steal a Northamptonshire Police medal thanking him for 35 years of “exemplary” service, as well as other items.

The 82-year-old and his wife Maureen said they never thought they would ever see it again.

However, in an unbeliveable twist of fate, Far Cotton man Dave Jordan and his friend Ryan found it on Saturday, October 22 while cleaning the River Nene near Westbridge Garage using fishing magnets.

Maureen said her husband’s face “lit up” when he was told it had been found.

Dave said: "We found a medal. It is in a box and it's got 'police long service medal' written on it.

"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 a year ago in December 2021.

"They were over the moon about hearing it had been found, especially in the water because nobody goes looking there. No one was ever going to find it there, but we found it.

"The boy who found it, Ryan, is going to come from his home in Nottingham and give it back to the family this weekend. It is amazing."

Dave said he has been cleaning the rivers and the town for nine years and finds like this are a “reward” for all of his hard work.

The 45-year-old added: "Finding that after doing the good deed we did, that's the message here."

Maureen Barron, speaking on behalf of her husband who has Alzheimers, they are “so, so pleased” to have the medal back.

She said: "Last December we were away for the night and we had a burglary. A lot was taken including this long service medal. We didn't think anymore about it because we didn't think we'd get it back. And then all of a sudden, last week, Dave phoned up to say that he had pulled it out the river. I just could not believe it.

"My husband has Alzheimer's and doesn't remember everything, but that medal to say he served for 35 years, he does remember. His little 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.

"It's absolutely unbelievable. We are so, so pleased."

Dave Jordan runs a YouTube channel called Adventures with Sonik & Friends, which documents his litter picking and river cleaning in Northampton.

Click here for more information about Dave’s YouTube channel.