FOUR decades after being cast out to sea, a message in a bottle has washed up on the sands of South Lakeland and awoken poignant memories for the family of the young teen who sent it.

A couple holidaying in Cark-in-Cartmel found the battered Coke bottle, complete with a note scribbled on the back of a chocolate wrapper, as they walked their dogs on the estuary.

John Thompson, who spends every weekend with his wife, Carol, at the Old Park Wood caravan site, near Holker, made the amazing discovery as he threw a tennis ball for his canine pals at the end of October.

But after drying out the saltwater-soaked note and studying the barely legible message, a tragic tale has unfolded bringing back words from beyond the grave for the family of Kevin Wainhouse.

See News - Bay for full story...