April 7, 2022 9.36 am This story is over 26 months old

Search for love message in a bottle found in Humber Estuary

More than 50 years after being thrown in the water

A message in a bottle written by two teenage girls hoping to finding love was found in the Humber Estuary more than half a century after the pair threw it in the water.

Jennifer Coleman from Grantham was visiting family in North Lincolnshire in 1966 when, along with childhood friend Janet Blankley, she threw the bottle containing their letters into the Humber Estuary.

More than 50 years later and Scunthorpe Litter Pickers found the bottle when they were out clearing rubbish at South Ferriby on April 2, 2022. The bottle was so well sealed it had to be broken to get the letters.

The letters, dated August 9, 1966, were found inside the bottle. The letter from Jennifer, now 71, read: “Anyone who finds this note, contact Miss J Coleman, please write if you are a boy under 18 but over 16, please send a photo, and one will be exchanged, thank you.”

Janet described herself as “not bad looking” in her letter, saying she had wavy hair and was 5ft 4in. The pair both included their home addresses in the letters.

Tracey Marshall from Scunthorpe Litter Pickers managed to track down Jennifer who had moved to Australia. She had lost touch with Janet after leaving school but was delighted to be contacted with the news of her teenage letter, adding that she did eventually find love at age 49.

Tracey told BBC Look North: “
We find all sorts of weird and wonderful things when we’re litter picking, but we never ever find along this scale, something that’s been in the water for 56 years, written by two girls, it was just brilliant. The whole group of people that were here on Saturday were very excited.”