Widower sends SOS to the world … but gets a message not to litter
ON the surface it seemed like a touching idea from a widower looking for love after the death of his wife from cancer: cast hundreds of bottles out to sea, each contain- ing a plea for a soulmate.
But Craig Sullivan’s attempt to find romance led to an unexpected backlash over the prospect of dozens of the bottles washing up on Britain’s beaches.
The 49-year-old consumer technology designer had been inspired by the Police’s hit song Message in a Bottle, about a lonely castaway’s search for company being answered in a similar fashion. But his gesture, which involved casting 2,000 bottles into the sea around the British coast, ran into trouble when walkers stumbled on dozens littering Rhossili Bay, near Swansea.
Helen Gill, 36, who was at the beach on Saturday, was among those who feared that the bottles, which had drifted from Hinckley Point in Cornwall, would damage wildlife and add to pollution.
Ms Gill told The Daily Telegraph: “I went for a beach walk and we came across about 30 glass bottles with lids. They had lots of messages inside about finding love. It may be romantic, but what is it doing to the environment?” She wrote her own message to Mr Sullivan. “I would ask you to think of another, more environmentally friendly way of carrying on your campaign. When visiting our beaches, you should leave only footprints.”
Dozens of people also used social media to urge Mr Sullivan to scrap his project, which he has since agreed to do. But his messages have not been completely in vain. “I’ve been contacted by a lady in Ireland and one from the west coast of Scotland and I’ve got a couple of dates arranged,” he said. “So some good has come out of it.”