WHEN four year-old Isabella Leyshon of Brierley and her aunt sent a message in a bottle down the River Wye, they doubted they would ever see it again.

But nearly four years later a reply has come back from a youngster doing a beach clean at Hinkley Point!

Isabella said: "When I was four, me and my Aunty Sara went to the river bank at Lydbrook and we sent a bottle down the river.

"We thought it would have been crushed up against the rocks."

The message, written by Isabella's aunt, said: "Hello, my name is Isabella and I am four years-old. I am trying an experiment to see how far my bottle goes. If you pick the bottle up, please phone me."

The bottle travelled slowly downstream before being found on a beach near Hinkley Point Power Station – about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

Christopher Sutton of Bridgewater was taking part in a voluntary clean-up of the beach when he picked up the bottle.

He went to the local paper to tell them his story and sent a copy of the newspaper to Isabella.

When the letter arrived, Isabella and her aunty were thrilled.

Isabella said: "I was really excited when Christopher found the bottle and sent me a letter. You never really have stuff like that happen in real life."

Isabella goes to Coalway School and loves to write stories – she says she is considering writing one about the boy who found the bottle.

"I would like to meet Christopher and I thought we could send another bottle together to try to meet someone new," she said.