But he handed it back to elderly lady in what he called a 'fairytale ending'

A honourable passer-by who found a massive diamond ring outside a Nando’s has returned it to its owner in what he described as ‘a fairytale ending’.

The finder, Andy, saw the ring's massive stones sparkling on the floor in Earl’s Court and instead of ‘flogging it’, decided to do the honourable thing and try to find the owner.

He launched a Facebook campaign to find who he described as the no-doubt ‘distraught owner’ of the ring, and today he met up with the older lady who it belonged to and returned it to her.

Consultant Andy, 31, pictured left, spotted the huge sparkling rocks from the ring, right, while walking back from a night out in Earls Court

Rather than 'flogging it at cash converters' the finder decided to do the 'honourable thing' and find the owner, launching a social media campaign to track her down

Andy spotted the ring outside Nando's (pictured) while on his way home from a night out with friends on Saturday

Andy said: ‘It’s a fairytale ending and shows just how much good social media can do. I feel like I have done my good deed for the year.’

Andy, 31, a consultant, was contacted by the owner earlier today after he launched a Facebook campaign to find her and an article appeared on MailOnline.

He got a taxi to meet her and the relative at a London jeweler and staff verified insurance records she held for the ring that proved it belonged to her.

Andy has no idea what the ring is worth but an independent jeweler who saw pictures of the ring on social media said the main stone was as big as 3.5 carats.

Sarah Sheard, manager of Hatton Jewels Ltd in London, said she thought the central stone is three to three and a half carat, although said she could not be sure what stone it is from pictures alone.

Mrs Sheard, qualified with the Gemological Institute Of America, said that the mount was platinum and the stones in it could be around two carat.

But despite the size of the huge stone, Andy decided to try and give it back after having similar experiences with other good willed people returning his lost phone.

He told MailOnline: ‘I have lost my phone four or five times and mentioned it on social media. Every time I have had it returned to me – it’s like a boomerang.’

Andy met the elderly lady in a London jewelers who confirmed she was the official owner and he handed it back to her in what he described as a 'fairytale ending'

Andy said he found the ring in the early hours of the morning outside Nando’s after a night out with friends in the area, spotting it 'sparkling' on the ground.

He said: 'I was stumbling home and thought I might pass some fast food joints seeing what tickled my fancy and it was freezing so I decided to hot-foot it home.

'I was hunched up with my head down trying to stay warm, and just caught a glint.

'I always considered myself quite lucky at finding a pound coin on the floor.'

The next day he launched the campaign to find the ring and in the hilarious Facebook post talking about finding the ring, the hunter says they he felt like Gollum when he spotted it, the obsessive creature from Lord Of The Rings who is captivated by its power.

While Andy admitted that he knew 'nothing about jewelry,' he said that he was assured by a friend that it is an engagement or wedding ring, 'because it's literally covered in diamonds you moron.

He wrote that he decided to try and track down the owner rather than ‘flogging this bejewelled finery at cash converters and blowing my winnings on scratchy cards,’ in the post on a page dedicated to finding its owner.

And the same morning he launched the campaign, someone got in touch to say that they had found the owner, who he went to meet.