A PADDLEBOARDER who lost his treasured GoPro camera in the depths of the ocean was stunned to see it returned undamaged six weeks later after a metal detectorist tracked him down.

Nick Devenney, from Brightlingsea, was enjoying a relaxing break in Cornwall when he lost the camera in July.

A prolific paddleboarder of four years, Nick, 38, had fixed the camera to his chest as part of a bid to document his trip.

After it came loose and plunged into the depths of the ocean, Nick didn’t hold out much hope of ever seeing it again.

“It was knocked off and it disappeared instantly,” he said.

“It was three days into a week’s trip, so I spent the other four days asking at the lifeguard station every day whether it had been found.

“I was gutted as I thought all the footage had been lost forever.”

Six weeks passed before a stranger messaged Nick on Facebook.

Metal detectorist Chris Osborne, 71, told the stunned sales account manager he had managed to trace him after watching videos recorded on the device, which had withstood its plunge into the sea.

A grateful Nick said: “When I first saw his message, it sent shivers down my spine.

“I couldn’t believe he had found it, tracked me down and that it was still working.

“It must have been buried on the beach and the tide dropped so he was able to uncover it.

“He was a gentleman in his 70s, so didn’t have much experience with these cameras, but he bought a cable online to charge it up.”

He added: “Chris saw the photos on it.

“I run a little boarding group, East of England Paddlesports on Facebook, he saw a picture of me in a hoodie, looked on the group and found a similar picture.”

Nick was delighted to be reunited with the £350 camera.

He said: “It blew me away and does show we do still have a lot of good and genuine people in the world.

“He didn’t want to accept anything for it. To send it back to me as well, it was just a really good gesture, so I insisted on giving him something for his efforts.

“I posted it on the Facebook group to 5,000 members and it had hundreds of engagements, people thought it was a really touching story.”

Nick said he will still be taking the GoPro on his next trip - but with some extra safety measures in place.

He said: “I have been paddleboarding for about four years, really just for the relaxation side of it, I work in a very corporate environment in London and it gives me a nice change of scenery.”

Chris, who practises metal detecting at Polzeath beach every week, said he is always happy to reunite lost items with their owners.

In a message to Nick on the Facebook group, he said: “I’m well pleased your GoPro is now back where it belongs Nick.

“To be honest I am surprised at all the lovely comments.

“Thank you to Nick for his generosity, which proves honesty really does pay.”