Woman ‘shocked’ after she’s penalised for dumping plastic bottles in sea.

‘Lorraine Forbes, from Eastbourne, enjoys sending the bottles out to sea – an activity which has long been a hobby.

On September 5, she dropped several plastic bottles over the side of Eastbourne Pier, which all included letters with her name and address – written on the back of a John Lydon gig flyer.

But her hopes of a new pen pal were dashed when her letter was returned to her anonymously in a parcel with no stamp, which was “full of stones to weigh it down”.

This meant she was forced to pay £7 to receive the letter from the post office, which she did on October 7.

The note had an addendum, written by a “cowardly bottle picker” in blue pen, which read: “Please stop throwing rubbish in the sea. It goes to Pevensey Bay or Normans Bay, one day later. Many thanks, a rubbish picker.”

Lorraine tends to receive replies from people who have found her bottles washed up on the coasts of Sussex, Kent and Cornwall, but in the past, they have been found as far away as France and Holland.

She says it is the “romance of a response” which attracts her to the ancient activity, but has never met with any of the people who have returned her letters.

Lorraine said she was left "shocked" by the incident.

“I thought it was a rather childish way to teach me a lesson,” she said. “It has been a hobby of mine.

“I guess it is an eye-opener to stop me from doing it in the future.”

The 58-year-old said she uses plastic bottles rather than glass ones so they do not shatter during their journey on the high seas.

She added that she won’t be sending out anymore bottles for the foreseeable.

“I have been told off by Eastbourne Pier in the past,” she said.

“They warned me that it’s dangerous to marine life.”’