65 year-old plastic washing up bottle found on Dorset beach

140222-washing up bottle found on dorset beach
Oly Rush, 37, found the bottle on one of his regular beach sweeps in Chapman’s Poole near Swanage. Credit: Deep South Media

A washing up bottle, thought to be around 65 years old, has been found washed up on a Dorset beach.

The bottle was found by Oly Rush, 37, who was carrying out one of his regular beach sweeps in Chapman’s Poole near Swanage.

It is thought to date from the mid-1950s and the writing on it, including the ‘By Royal Appointment’ message, is still legible.

Doby was produced by Thawpit Ltd of Manchester and boasts that it is the ‘big new economy size’ of ‘1½ pints’.

Oly Rush said: “This just goes to show how long plastics last. They are awful for the environment and while I’ve pulled tons of the stuff from local beaches, this is the oldest thing I’ve ever found.

“Whether it has been in the water all the time or has come out of a cliff I’m not sure, but either way it wasn’t doing any good.

“If we can all do a little bit to cut down on plastic waste then slowly the environment will improve and it’ll be better for us all and for wildlife."

The bottle boasts that it is the ‘big new economy size’ of ‘1½ pints’. Credit: Deep South Media

Oly undertakes regular beach cleans and is campaigning for more awareness of plastic in our oceans.

In February last year, a seal had to be rescued after becoming trapped in plastic rubbish on Felixstowe beach.

And in January this year, a large plastic trawler net was found buried below the sand on a Cornwall beach.


The enormous plastic fishing net discovered on a Cornwall beach

Seal found trapped in plastic on Felixstowe beach