Discovery of lost camera sparks appeal for owner

The Nikon camera was found beside a footpath on the Isles of Scilly

The discovery of a camera lost on the Isles of Scilly seven years ago has sparked a search for its rightful owners.

The Nikon camera was discovered buried in vegetation beside a footpath.

Analysis of the camera's SD card revealed it was last used in 2018 and carried more than 3,000 family photographs and videos.

The man who found the camera is hoping an appeal on social media will get the camera and card back to the right people.

The camera contained several photographs taken on the Isles of Scilly

The camera was found by Sean Lewis, 63, who lives on St Mary's, the largest of the Isles of Scilly.

He said: "I was walking between Porth Mellon and Thomas Porth, it's a route we often walk.

"The grass beside the path had just been strimmed and there the camera was, down in the foliage at the foot of the hedge, it was clear that it had been there a long time.

"Initially I wasn't very hopeful of getting anything out of it because it was all full of water, but after it had dried out for a couple of days I was able to access the SD card and found it was full of pictures and videos, 3,500 of them.

"It's remarkable, really."

The Nikon camera was discovered buried in vegetation beside a footpath

Mr Lewis said he had posted a photo of the camera itself and some of the shots from the SD card on some of the popular Isles of Scilly Facebook pages to see if anyone would recognise the people in the pictures.

"There are lots of family shots, I guess the camera dates back to a time before mobile phones," he laughed.

"It appears they're fairly well travelled because a lot of the images are from around the country; Scotland, Ireland, certainly Wales, they seem to feature quite a bit there.

"I'm sure if they haven't got copies of them already they'll be wanting them back."