A message in a bottle tossed into the sea by British scientists which washed ashore in Germany more than 100 years later has been confirmed as the world's oldest.
The historic missive was sent by George Parker Bidder between 1904 and 1906 - along with a postcard and the promise of a shilling to the finder.
It was eventually picked up in April last year by retired post office worker Marianne Winkler as she holidayed on the island of Amrum, off the north coast of Germany.