A message in a bottle penned by two teenage girls in the 1960s has been discovered by litter-pickers as they cleaned up a river.
The two notes were placed in the bottle and tossed into the river in Grantham, Lincs., in 1966, just days after England won the World Cup.
In the notes, Jennifer Coleman and Janet Blankley said they were looking for teenage boys and listed their contact details.
Incredibly the bottle remained undiscovered for the next 56 years - until it was found by Tracey Marshall and her daughter Charlotte.
The pair were volunteering at a litter-pick at the Humber Estuary in South Ferriby, Lincs., when they made the discovery last weekend.
Charlotte spotted the cork on the bottle and saw paper inside, which turned out to be two rolled up messages and a hand-drawn picture.
Janet wrote in her note: “I am 15, not bad looking, long wavy brown, chestnut hair. 5ft 4in.”
She asked to hear from boys who were “not under 16 or over 18” and offered to swap pictures.
The litter-picker group managed to track down the friends. Janet still lives in Grantham, while Jennifer moved to Australia.
Jennifer, 69, revealed the bottle had been thrown into the water at the same spot where it was discovered.
“I had completely forgotten about the message in the bottle. It is in such good condition after half a century, unbelievable,” she said.
“Janet and I were good friends. We spent a lot of time together during holidays but went our separate ways once we finished school.
“I think it’s hilarious and unbelievable that it’s been there for 56 years just lying around.
“I vaguely remember sending it. I just thought it would be interesting if we ever got a reply from our notes.
“You did used to hear about messages in bottles in my childhood but I don’t think we gave it another thought afterwards.”
“It probably sank straight into the mud and that’s where it lay all this time.
“I would love to say hello to Janet and see where our paths went. I understand she still lives in Grantham.”
