Tyneside rugby club's ball washes up nearly 500 miles away in Denmark

A rugby ball, last seen on a beach in north-east England, has been found washed up on a beach nearly 500 miles away!

Rockcliff Rugby Club left the ball in a toy bin at Longsands Beach to encourage more people to play the sport.

However, the club were shocked when a German family contacted them to let them know they had found the ball while on holiday in Denmark, about 470 miles away.

They had spotted the ball floating in the water during a fishing trip.

What happened?

Two of the club's young players, placed the ball in the toy bin on 15 June so that families could play with it while at the seaside.

However, just over a month later it had managed to travel hundreds of miles across the North Sea and was found in Denmark by Bernd Terbeek and his son, who were on a fishing trip.

Mr Terbeek decided to email the club to tell them of his family's discovery and said they planned to use it to play rugby later that day.

He added that his family planned to keep the ball and would continue to check on the club's activities in the future.