A FORMER Addingham landlord has gone overboard with excitement after receiving a reply to his message in a bottle.

Coun David Harrison was astonished when a postcard dropped through his letterbox from a resident of North Uist, an Outer Hebridean island.

He explained: 'I was enjoying an Arctic cruise on a ship called the Edinburgh Castle back in June. At some point off the south coast of Greenland I put a greeting message in a bottle and tossed it into the sea.'

'I was delighted when the postcard arrived in Addingham and I shall be trying to contact the man who found it early in the New Year,' he said.

The postcard simply reads 'Message found on Hosta Beach, North Uist, Western Isles on Monday December 14 by Mr Donald Laing, Baleloch, North Uist. Seasons Greetings.'

What has particularly delighted Coun Harrison is that this is the second time his 'drop me a line' plea has received a response - it is 25 years since his previous success.

In May 1973, while still landlord of The Fleece Inn, Coun Harrison threw a wine bottle into the sea from an Isle of Man ferry.

The message, written on the back of a card which described Coun Harrison as a collector of coins and military medals, was discovered floating in the Atlantic by another keen collector who lived in Pennsylvania.

However, Coun Harrison had to wait some time before receiving a response - five years to be exact and 5,000 miles from the point he dropped the bottle into the sea.

In the letter sent to Coun Harrison, Charles McCord said: 'I found a bottle with your card in it floating in the ocean. I too am a fancier of paper money, coins and old weapons.'

Coun Harrison said at the time, he was going to send Mr McCord something for his collection, along with copies of press cuttings concerning the find and another message which said 'There's a pint on the bar if you want one.'

Although Coun Harrison is delighted to have received two replies to date, there is the possibility that more will follow.

Over the years he has thrown many bottles into the sea from different parts of the world.

'It was fantastic to receive that first reply in 1978, it seems a strange coincidence that the next one arrives 25 years later.'

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