Bahamas message-in-a-bottle washes up on Scilly

The message was "so well preserved" said Francesca McCarthy

A hotelier on the Isles of Scilly was "amazed" to find a washed-up message in a bottle that travelled more than 4,000 miles (6,400km) from the Bahamas.

The bottle reached a beach on St Mary's where it was spotted among rocks by Francesca McCarthy.

Inside was a message from a couple from the US who had dropped the bottle in the sea to mark a second honeymoon.

Ms McCarthy said William and Catherine Tallman were "ecstatic" to hear of the find.

The pair, from South Carolina, had dropped the message in a bottle into the sea while on a yachting holiday in May last year.

Ms McCarthy, who runs the Karma St Martin's hotel, said: "The message was so well preserved, I was really surprised to find it had come all the way from the Bahamas."

Mr Tallman, 45, who dropped the bottle into the sea to mark his second honeymoon, said he was "very surprised" the message had been found.

"It must have travelled about eight miles a day, which is sometimes faster than I sail," he said.

"I have dropped eight or 10 bottles over the years out of curiosity but this is the only one that's been picked up."