An 18-year-old Eden diver was thrilled to be able to return a working Apple Watch she found submerged 15m under water — and was amazed to discover it belonged to a Penrith teacher who had lost it a month ago.
Chloe Mattinson, of Temple Sowerby, found the watch while scuba diving with her father, Dave, in Crummock Water.
She said: “It was just a normal dive.
“We were just swimming along and decided to turn around and go back the other way and it was sat on its face.”
Chloe, who has just finished her A-levels Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and is going to study marine and freshwater biology at university, said the back of the watch was almost like a mirror.
She shone her torch over it and thought at first it might have just been a tin can.
“I then focused my torch on it and saw it was a watch, and then realised ‘oh my God — it’s an Apple Watch’ and just picked it up and brought it out,” said Chloe.
She found the screen was still on — it was flat, but it was saying it needed charging.
Chloe said: “If you hold down the power button on the side of the Apple Watch, not everyone adds it, but you have the option to add medical ID, so I swiped it and it came up with the mobile phone number for an emergency contact.
“Clearly Apple Watches are water resistant as it has come out and been absolutely fine.”
Richard Horton, who is a biology teacher at Penrith’s Ullswater Community College, said it was a sheer surprise as he had no expectations that his lost Apple Watch would be found four weeks after he had lost it.
Mr Horton lost the watch after being out paddleboarding on Crummock Water.
He said they had paddled almost its entire length before stopping near a popular rock jumping place.
After taking off his cap and sunglasses, he jumped in — but forgot to remove his watch.
Mr Horton said it was incredible that the watch had significant charge and was still functioning after being submerged under water for a month.
He thanked Chloe for returning the watch to him by presenting her with a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine.
A member of Eden Valley Divers, which is affiliated to Scottish Sub Aqua Club (ScotSAC), Chloe has been diving since 2017 and has progressed to a sports diver qualification.
Now she regularly dives at 25m in the lakes and is working towards her ScotSAC qualification with Eden Valley Divers instructing her towards it.
Formed in October last year, Eden Valley Divers now has about 10 members.
