Family throw sailor's prosthetic leg in the sea in hopes it would reach Ibiza but it ends up in Weston-super-Mare

A family fulfilled a sailor's dying wish by throwing his prosthetic leg into the sea, hoping it would sail to Ibiza - but it turned up 30 miles away in Weston-super-Mare.

Michael Harris died in December aged 66, having spent 20 years in the merchant navy, and his semi-joking final wish was that his family send his prosthetic leg out to sea. And whether or not he was being serious, the family did just that.

Michael's sons Daniel, 43, Ricci, 35, and daughter Natalie, 41, cast the leg away from their dad's hometown of Lydney, Gloucestershire, on 19 January, hoping it would make its way to exotic lands far afield.

Natalie attached a note to the leg, hoping one day far down the line she might get a call from an Ibizan, confirming the leg had washed up on the Spanish island.

Alas, they soon heard word that it had travelled all of 30 miles to Weston-super-Mare.

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"I didn't think we'd hear anything about it so soon but when my brother messaged saying it had been found, I was shocked," Natalie said.

"One lady who stumbled across it in Weston is a marine biologist and she said it could take a month before it gets out to sea beyond the estuary as the tide keeps dragging it back in.

"It still seems to be around Weston at the moment so we're hoping it can be pushed a bit further out to get it into the sea.

"It's been so lovely and I hope to God it keeps going as it's made people smile."

Michael had his leg amputated in 2017 after a circulation problem developed, and subsequently had a prosthetic leg fitted.

Natalie said that he asked for them to throw the leg in the sea, and while the request may have been made in jest, the children decided to take it at face value.

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"Daniel had taken dad for radiotherapy and as they were driving home he said he'd always wanted to go travelling again and so rather comically asked if we could send his leg round the world," Natalie recalled.

"We nearly didn't do it but we thought, 'This is going to be funny.' It's kept him alive for us as well - we just hope it gets further than Weston."

She added: "I'm hoping it'll go off to maybe Ibiza. If someone wants to get it out of Weston on a direct boat to Ibiza that'd be amazing.

"We've also said wherever it ends up we'll definitely go out to visit as that'll be hilarious."