Lego 'lost from 1997 freighter' found at St Bees

The Lego piece was found at St Bees - about 320 miles from Land's End

A piece of Lego believed to have been lost off the Cornish coast 21 years ago has been found on a beach in Cumbria.

The plastic plant found at St Bees is thought to have been one of 4.8m pieces of Lego lost overboard from the Tokio Express in 1997.

The freighter was hit by a big wave about 20 miles off Land's End and 62 containers fell overboard.

The Colourful Coast Partnership, who found the piece, said it highlights the problem of plastic marine pollution.

The beaches where Lego washes up

A spokeswoman said: "It's possible that our tiny piece of Lego sea grass has been bobbing about in the ocean, not breaking down, being nibbled by fish and other marine creatures for over 20 years before drifting ashore on our coast to, finally, be found in a beach clean and stop being part of the marine pollution problem.

"Plastic in the sea doesn't just decompose, or go away."

The Tokio Express was bound for New York from Rotterdam when, on 13 February 1997, it was struck by a giant wave.

One of the lost containers was full of Lego kits and, coincidently, many of the pieces among the cargo were marine themed, such as octopuses, flippers and seagrass.

A Facebook page has been set up to record findings from the container with experts believing they could end up anywhere in the world.