Children at a South Carolina elementary school in the US are "over the moon" when they found out that a toy boat they built had managed to make its way nearly 4,000 miles (6,400km) to a beach in Wales. The vessel washed up on Borth beach in the county of Ceredigion and was found on 10 February.

"We were looking across the waves when it [toy boat] literally sailed right to us," a local woman, identified as Helen Hinks of Talybont told the BBC. "It was magical." The toy boat, named the Carolina Dreamer, was created by students at the St Andrews School of Math and Science in Charleston, South Carolina as part of a project on the world's oceans in May 2015.

"We've been tracking [the boat] journey for nine months and when her GPS failed to send a signal on 2 February, we were very worried that we may never hear from her again," said Amy McMahon, the St Andrews teacher who lead the project. "Our students frantically contacted harbourmasters, the UK Coast Guard, and anyone and everyone who may come in contact with her. The response was astounding and it seemed that the entire coastline of Ireland and Wales were keeping watch."

The school received a message on 10 February that read: "About a week ago, I was on the beach with my son and we saw a little boat come sailing in on the waves. We pulled it out and stored it safety. My daughters go to school in Borth and were really excited about the finding. I will take it to the school tomorrow morning and explain the story. Very exciting to have found and to give news to the children at your school. Many thanks Helen Hinks."

The boat was reportedly recovered with some parts missing. Meanwhile, Hinks has said that her children's school hopes to relaunch Carolina Dreamer back to the US.

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