Guernsey Press

Rare Lego find greets Sam’s return to beach

A RARE Lego octopus washed up on the west coast and was found by delighted beachcomber Sam Reoch.

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On her return to the beaches after an ankle injury, regular beachcomber Sam Reoch was delighted to find a rare Lego octopus, one of 4,200 lost overboard from a container ship in 1997.

In February 1997, around 4.8m. Lego pieces were lost overboard from the Tokio Express container ship in a storm when she was 20 miles off Land’s End in Cornwall.

Of those millions of pieces, there were only 4,200 octopuses lost at sea, which Ms Reoch said were considered the holy grail of the items washed overboard.

The rare octopus piece in situ.

‘I went for a walk with my partner Jon and our dog Millie on a west coast beach – my first time on a beach in months due to an ankle injury – and I took my litter-picker to pick up any rubbish, as I always do,’ she said.

After collecting a fair amount of rubbish she saw the decades-old octopus in some seaweed.

‘He was a little battered from his time at sea. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I’d always secretly hoped to find one, but I knew there were only 4,200 Lego octopus inside that container so the chance of finding one was very low.’

She was shocked and indescribably happy after the find.

Various other pieces from the container spill have been found in Guernsey.

‘Being a regular beach cleaner, I have also found a few other pieces over the years from that container spill – a black Lego dragon a few years back at Cobo, a piece of Lego seaweed and Lego flippers.’

Sam Reoch's collection of Lego found on Guernsey beaches, which spilled from the Tokio Express ship in 1997 when 4.8 million pieces were lost at sea.

Ms Reoch runs the Found on the Beach in Guernsey (Beachcombers) Facebook group, on which other womblers have reported finding pieces.

‘A flipper and a speargun were kindly donated to me for my collection. I am now hoping to find a Lego flower. I do believe if you keep cleaning the beaches, you will be rewarded for your efforts.’

n If any Lego pieces are found on beaches, it is asked that a photo is taken in situ for the Facebook group. Visit bit.ly/3apjkku to report any finds.