The second schoolgirl who sent a message in a bottle from Dungeness in 1979 - which then washed up in the Netherlands - has been found.

Nadine Warren, who lived in Maidstone at the time, sent the note with her friend Natalie Smyth while on a school trip aged 15.

The bottle was found washed up months later in Westkapelle in the Netherlands, and was kept safe by a woman all these years. When the lady's son Roger Woldenberg discovered the note during a clear out, he decided to try and track down the girls behind the message.

Much to his delight, former Maidstone Grammar School for Girls pupil, Natalie Smyth, 56, was soon found.

She remembered being on a geography field trip to Dungeness and Rye and throwing plastic bottles into the sea with her friend Nadine. Miss Smyth had not been in contact with Nadine for many years and believed she had emigrated to Canada.

Now, Nadine Warren has also been in touch.

The 55-year-old's Vinters Park address was the one on the note - and she lived here until she was 18 and went to Sussex University.

She has indeed moved to Canada and lives in Summerland, British Columbia with her dog Fox and is a social worker.

Ms Warren said: "I do remember the day. Both Nat and I were bored to death, even though as an adult I went back to the area many times and loved it.

"We were drinking Fanta or Cresta I think it was called, so I rinsed the bottle, wrote the note - Nat wrote the “Bye” bit, rolled it up, stuffed it in the bottle and threw it into the sea.

"I was so shocked when my sister in Colorado sent me the article."

She added: "I moved from that address at 18, never to return. I went to Sussex University, married, had a horde of kids and ended up here in Canada as my life unfolded.

"I live in a beautiful little place called Summerland in B.C.

"I am a registered social worker and after 16 years of frontline work with children and families, a couple more degrees - I always loved school, books more books and learning, despite being a less than exemplary student - I now work as the integrated services manager for Community Living BC, a Crown Corp serving individuals with disabilities in the South Okanagan.

"I love my job and my staff who are coping amazingly well as a designated essential service in this unprecedented Covid-19 crisis."

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