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Message-in-a-Bottle Romance Backfires: Woman Receives Box of Rocks and Angry Note, Now Faces Possible Fines

Summary: Lorraine Forbes, 58, of East Sussex has long tossed messages in plastic bottles hoping for a romantic reply. A recent response arrived as a parcel of rocks and an anonymous note asking her to stop "throwing rubbish in the sea," and the parcel cost her about $9.20. Harbour officials have previously warned her, and throwing waste into waterways is illegal in England and Wales; West Sussex has been issuing littering fines of roughly $99. Forbes says she may stop to avoid legal trouble.

12:43 AM, 11/24/2025Society
Message-in-a-Bottle Romance Backfires: Woman Receives Box of Rocks and Angry Note, Now Faces Possible Fines

Report by Isobel Williams.

A 58-year-old East Sussex resident, Lorraine Forbes, says a decades-old pastime of tossing messages in bottles into local waters in search of romance took an unpleasant turn recently. The reply she received was a parcel of rocks and an anonymous note demanding she stop "throwing rubbish in the sea."

"Please stop throwing rubbish in the sea. It goes to Pevensey Bay or Normans Bay one day later. Many thanks, a rubbish picker."

The parcel cost Forbes about $9.20 to receive, she said, adding insult to injury. She has been sending bottled messages for years and occasionally receives replies — some simply report where a bottle was found, while others have come from as far away as France and the Netherlands.

"I just wanted a bit of romance. It has always been a hobby of mine. It is an old-fashioned thing," Forbes said. She uses plastic bottles rather than glass to avoid breakage and sometimes releases bottles in batches, a habit that has previously drawn admonishment from harbour officials.

Forbes called the anonymous response "cowardly" because it included no name or return address. She said the incident has made her reconsider the practice after realizing local environmental authorities could trace letters back to her and that leaving bottles in the water could carry legal consequences.

Legal and environmental concerns

Throwing waste into bodies of water is illegal in England and Wales, according to Sussex Police. West Sussex authorities have recently been issuing littering fines of roughly $99 per incident, increasing the potential cost of what Forbes considered a harmless, romantic hobby.

Forbes now says she may stop the ritual to avoid further confrontation and possible penalties, weighing nostalgia and romance against environmental and legal risks.

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