Mike Richardson, aged 69, was working on a friend's boat in Swansea Marina when his £250 prescription glasses fell into the water. He wanted to order a new pair, but when a local optician, Nick King, heard about the accident he decided to help.
Diving as a qualified British Sub-Aqua Club national instructor, Nick used 31 years of experience to find Mike's lost glasses 20 feet down at the bottom of the Marina. He turned up holding the glasses after a five-minute search.
Mike said: ‘When my glasses fell into the water I thought I'd have to buy a new pair, but luckily my friend knew Nick and called him for advice. He arrived within two hours of the call and started searching the Marina in the area around the boat. We thought he'd never find them because it's very dark water down there. After five minutes there were a lot of people at the scene who came to watch and we were all amazed when Nick came up from the freezing water with my glasses! No one could believe it when we found out that Nick was actually an optician from the local Specsavers!’
The glasses were fine to use after a quick wash. Mike added: ‘I'm extremely grateful to Nick for returning my glasses to me!’
Nick said: ‘Looking for lost glasses isn't normally part of the Specsavers service, but when I heard about Mike's problem I couldn't resist helping him out. I have dived all over the world, but my dive in Swansea's Marina was unique, as I was able to use my diving skills to help a Specsavers patient in such an exceptional way!’