Appeal over message in a bottle

The bottle may have been washed ashore by stormy seas

A message in a bottle thrown into the sea at Atlantic City in the US has been found on a beach in Cornwall.

The bottle, discovered by a beach ranger on Summerleaze Beach near Bude, contains a sun-bleached letter from a 12-year-old girl from Durham.

In the letter the girl, called Alexus, asks the finder to send her the bottle, but the contact details are illegible.

It is thought the bottle was washed up in Cornwall because of the recent high winds and stormy seas.

The message on blue-lined writing paper was written on 18 December 2006, but only the writing on the top half of the letter has remained clear and legible, with the remainder being bleached by the sun.

We would like to help the bottle travel its final 300 miles back to Durham Alan Coltart, beach ranger

The beach ranger is hoping to send the bottle on its final journey.

Alan Coltart said: "This bottle has travelled for nearly a year across over 3,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean.

"The message requests the finder reunites the bottle with its sender. Sadly the contact details are illegible, but we would like to help the bottle travel its final 300 miles back to Durham."

Anyone who knows Alexus is asked to contact North Cornwall Council's beach ranger service.