A message in a bottle thrown into the sea 108 years ago by British scientists has been discovered washed up on a beach in Germany.

It is believed to be the oldest message-in-a-bottle ever found.

Marianne Winkler, a retired post office worker, found the message from the past while on holiday with her husband on the North Sea island of Amrum.

"It's always a joy when some one finds a message-in-a-bottle on the beach," she told the Amrum News, a local website.

But when Mrs Winkler stumbled on her message-in-a-bottle, she had no idea quite how old it would turn out to be.

Written on a piece of paper inside were the words "Break the bottle".

"My husband, Horst, carefully tried to get the message out of the bottle, but there was no chance, so we had to do as it said," Mrs Winkler said.

Inside they found a postcard with no date but a message promising a reward of a shilling to anyone who returned it.

The message, in English, German and Dutch, asked anyone who discovered the bottle to fill in some information on where and how they found it.

The return address was the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth.

"We did as it asked, and the story took its course," said Mrs Winkler.

The couple sent the postcard to Plymouth in an envelope to avoid it getting damaged in the post.

"It was quite a stir when we opened that envelope, as you can imagine," Guy Baker, communications director at the Marine Biological Association, said.

But the association made sure of one thing: Mrs Winkler got the shilling reward promised in the note.

"We found an old shilling, I think we got it on eBay," said Mr Baker. "We sent it to her with a letter saying 'Thank you'."

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World's oldest message in a bottle washes up in Germany after 108 years at sea (www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11815044/Worlds-oldest-message-in-a-bottle-washes-up-in-Germany-after-108-years-at-sea.html)