A metal detectorist unearthed a platinum and diamond ring worth £34,000 buried on a beach in Florida.

Joseph Cook, 37, found the ring while combing Hammock Beach in St Augustine with his trusty device.

Footage shows Joseph digging it out of the sand and exclaiming in shock: ‘No way, man, whoah, look at that bad boy, holy crap, yo that’s real.

‘I swear to god this is the biggest diamond I ever found on the beach.’

He immediately posted the video on social media and called jewellery stores looking for people who may have lost a ring.

‘When I went to the jewellers, they told me it was worth $40,000,’ he said.

‘I just said, “Oh god that’s been sitting in my scooter for almost a week.” I couldn’t believe it.

‘When I first found it I thought it would just be a nickel, but then I dug it up and it was just this big old diamond and platinum ring.’

Joseph Cook filmed the moment he dug the ring out of the sand (Picture: SWNS)

Joseph Cook could have sold it for thousands but he returned it to its owners (Picture: SWNS)

It is quite the rock (Picture: SWNS)

Two weeks later, Joseph began receiving calls from a number he didn’t recognise. He initially ignored them, but then realised it could be the owners.

Joseph ended up video calling a couple from Jacksonville who had lost a similar ring.

He said: ‘They were pretty happy, the wife just said, “Oh my god I can’t believe it,” and then she just started crying.’

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Joseph said returning the ring ‘felt really good’, adding: ‘I really wasn’t disappointed that I had to return it.

‘I’ve got a necklace with about twenty-five to thirty rings on it just so I can return them to their owners.

‘Karma’s always good, every time I return an item, I find something better, so I’m happy I could give it back.’

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He could have sold it for thousands but returned it safely to its owners.