Yorkshire surfer amazed after lost board drifts 400 miles from Runswick Bay to the Shetland Islands

Lee Brogan was surfing in his local spot at Runswick Bay on the Yorkshire coast back in November when his board was caught in a rip tide and the leash snapped.

He became separated from the board as he swam to shore and expected it to have washed up on the beach - only to see it drifting northwards with the outgoing tide.

Lee posted an appeal for sightings of the board on a local Facebook page, Saltburn Surfers, and drove to several other beaches to the north and south of Runswick Bay to see if it had come ashore before giving up on ever seeing it again.

Yet just five weeks later, the 10-year-old board was found 400 miles away at Skeld in the Shetland Islands - an archipelago off the Scottish mainland which is the northernmost part of the United Kingdom.

A local couple, Jake Anderson and Stephanie Riise, recovered the unusual beachcombing find and posted a photograph of the yellow Walden board on a community Facebook page in an attempt to trace its owner, whom they assumed would be a fellow Shetlander. Yet the post on the Shetland Seashore Discoveries forum was seen by a Saltburn Surfers member, who recognised it as belonging to Lee and put him in touch with Stephanie.

Unable to collect it himself during lockdown, Lee instead waited until a Shetland-based courier was making a van trip south - and has now taken delivery of the board at his home near Runswick Bay.

Incredibly, it had suffered little damage during its odyssey and needs just a few repairs and a new coat of paint before Lee can use it again.

"This big, rogue wave wiped me out and the leash snapped. Normally, it would have washed up, but at Runswick sometimes the waves get between the two sides and create a massive rip in the middle of the bay. There were a couple of guys with binoculars in the car park who saw it near to me, but I could only see white water so I swam back to shore," said Lee.

"I would have gone to pick it up myself if it wasn't for lockdown, so I was just waiting for it to be couriered back to me. I did speak to a surf distribution company who quoted me about £200, but Stephanie agreed to keep it for me until a local guy who does van trips was coming south, and he brought it for a small fee.

"I knew the outgoing tide at Runswick goes towards Edinburgh and the incoming south to Filey, and I checked a few beaches north and south to see if I could find it. I'm amazed really - it's in great condition given what happened to it. I was a bit wary of spending a lot of money to get it back, but it just needs a few repairs and a re-paint and I'll be using it again in the next few days."