Oliver, 4, “over the moon” his message in a bottle made it across North Sea to Germany and school sent reply

A four-year old boy released a message in a bottle in the North Sea last May hoping to get a reply ... more than eight months later, his wish came true.

Oliver Booth, who goes to Wisbech Grammar School’s preparatory school Magdalene House, drew a picture with a message from his mum asking that if the bottle was ever found could the person please send a reply.

The message was put in a regular plastic bottle and the top glued before being released off the Skegness coast.

To begin with, Oliver asked every day if someone had found his bottle, but he soon forgot about it.

However, on February 2, he received a large envelope. Inside were photographs, maps and Oliver’s original message. The envelope came from a class from Theodorianum Grammar School in Padelborn, Germany.

The class had been on a school trip to a small island off the coast of Germany called Borkum and found his bottle while walking through the dunes there.

The pupils were so excited by the discovery they used it for a class project. They tracked the route of the bottle across the North Sea and sent maps of its journey.

Saffron Booth, Oliver’s mum, said: “They sent personal messages to Oliver in English and thanked him for making their day really exciting.

“Oliver was over the moon to receive the reply, he took it into school for a show and tell and his teacher thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to write back to the German school and perhaps form some lasting links.”