A British boy threw a message in a bottle into the North Sea - and got a reply after it floated 4,200 miles to the Caribbean.

Harrison Mizen, eight, learned about the communication method at school and with the help of mum Laura, 38, put a message in an old glass rum bottle which "reminded him of pirates"."

It said: ‘Hi my name is Harrison I've got a little brother called max.

We're from south Shields in England.

I hope this reaches you and I hope you're having a good day' and enclosed his address.

The pair, along with brother Max, four, and dad Paul, 41, a heating engineer, tossed it into the sea off Sandhaven beach in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, on January 21.

The schoolboy was astonished when a postcard from St. Lucia landed on the doormat on Tuesday, 23/9.

Delighted Harrison took the card into school for show and tell.

It has a picture of Gros Islet, on the northern tip of St. Lucia, with a postmark dated September 8.

The anonymous note said: 'I found your note while I was fishing with my dad.

The bottle got caught on some nets like the ones on the picture.

We're having a good day thank you, hope you are too.'

Laura, a civil servant, said: "Harrison is absolutely over the moon."

"It's lovely that they have taken the time to reply."

"I can't believe it got so far."

"I really didn't think anything would come of it, I thought the bottle would get caught up somewhere or smashed."

"Even when we threw it in it kept coming back - we had to do it so many times."