Camera lost on Isles of Scilly to be returned to owners in Wales | UK News

A family in Wales say they are “overjoyed” after a digital camera they lost on the Isles of Scilly seven years ago has been found intact.

The camera was found at the foot of a hedge and needed two days of drying out before the memory card could be accessed. It was discovered to be holding thousands of family photos and videos.

After an appeal on Facebook, the rightful owners of the camera have been found 140 miles (225m) away and plans are being made to get the camera and card back to them.

Debbie Davies, the bride in one of the photos shared in the online appeal, said everyone was “very grateful” for the detective work.

The Nikon digital camera was found by Sean Lewis, 63, who lives on St Mary’s, the largest of the Isles of Scilly, which are about 28 miles (45km) off Cornwall.

He spotted the camera at the foot of a hedge that had just been strimmed and took it home to investigate

He said: “Initially, I wasn’t very hopeful of getting anything out of it because it was all full of water.

“But, after it had dried out for a couple of days, I was able to access the SD card and found it was full of pictures and videos – 3,500 of them.”

The time stamp on the last picture showed the camera had last been used in 2018, so Mr Lewis put a post on popular Isles of Scilly Facebook pages to see if anyone recognised the people in the pictures.

Two days later, the Taylor family in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, started getting a flurry of messages from friends who had spotted them on social media.

Debbie Davies confirmed she was the bride in the photos, and that the camera had been lost by her mum and dad, Catherine and Andy Taylor, in 2018.

She said: “When I saw the pictures on Facebook, I knew all the pictures, all the faces.

“My parents love a beach holiday, they love taking lots of holiday snaps as well.

“I’ve spoken to my mum. They thought they had lost the camera on the beach and spent ages scouring the place to find it.

“They will be overjoyed to see all the family photos. It’s like looking back on a holiday from 2018.

“But there’s no way I’m sitting through 3,500 photos – I’ve asked for the edited highlights.”

Mrs Davies, 32, who is an accountant, said she was very grateful for the effort Sean Lewis had put into the search.

She said: “Two days to dry the camera card out? I don’t think I would have had the patience.

“We are all very grateful he took the time to follow it up. And it goes to show the power of Facebook, I guess.”