Ammon News - A Scottish schoolgirl's message in a bottle has finally received a reply more than 30 years later - after being discovered in Norway.

Alaina Beresford, from Portknockie in Moray, sent the message in 1994 when she was 12 as part of a school project.

It washed up across the North Sea where it was found by a volunteer cleaning up a Norwegian island - who then dispatched a postcard to the delighted sender to let her know.

Alaina told BBC Scotland News she could not believe her original letter was in such good condition after three decades.

Her handwritten letter had been sent in an empty bottle of Moray Cup, a fizzy drink produced in the north east of Scotland.

It said: "Dear finder. My name is Alaina Stephen and I am 12 years of age. I come from Portknockie and I am doing a project on water so I decided to send a message in a bottle.

"My teacher's husband took them and dropped them in the middle of the ocean.

"When you find this message, please write back with your name, hobbies, where you found the message, when, and if you could, a little information about your area. Yours sincerely, Alaina Stephen. PS I come from Scotland."

Now, 31 years on, Alaina has received a postcard from Pia Brodtmann, telling her the good news, with pictures of the find.

It said: "My name is Pia and I am from Germany. Today I found your message in a bottle on Lisshelløya, a tiny island around Vega in Norway.

"I am here for beach cleaning as a volunteer for four months and today we cleaned Lisshelløya. On the front of the postcard you can see our workboat Nemo and our sailboat Fonn, where we live. You can also see the area around Vega. I wonder when and where your teacher's husband threw your bottle in the ocean?" BBC