Prosthetic leg lost at sea found 10 months later

A woman whose prosthetic leg was swept out to sea said it was "just amazing" after it was found washed up on a beach in East Yorkshire 10 months later.

Brenda Ogden, 69, lost her £2,000, custom-made titanium blade before her first ever open-water swim in Bridlington in April.

On Monday, fossil hunter Elizabeth Forbes was walking on the Holderness coast when she came across the "bizarre" find.

Brenda, who said she was looking forward to meeting Elizabeth on Saturday to be reunited with her leg, said: "I didn't think I'd ever be swimming in the sea again. I'm going to be able to now, so that is absolutely brilliant."

Brenda was posing for a photo before her first swim with the Flamborough Flippers group, when a wave knocked her off her feet and washed her leg away.

"I really couldn't believe I lost it. One minute we were standing up smiling, the next minute it was disappearing off," Brenda said.

Members of the 22-strong swimming group patrolled the beach in hopes of finding her lost prosthesis, but they had no luck.

Brenda's leg was amputated after a car crash five years ago and she joined the swimming group as a way of challenging herself.

"I was very excited because I had this new limb that I could go into the water with," she said.

"I've just been very sad about it all this time because I thought I would never see it.

"Then yesterday I saw a picture of it on Facebook and somebody said they thought it was a bomb."

Elizabeth, 38, from Leven, spotted the prosthesis, which she first thought was a gas canister, on one of her usual walks from Hornsea.

"It looked like an upside down lemonade bottle with something on top then it sort of clicked that it was a prosthetic leg," she said.

She posted a photo of the curious find on social media, where it was identified as Brenda's missing leg.

"I was kicking myself for not picking up the leg. I never thought we'd have someone say 'that's my leg'," she said.

The prosthesis has been collected from the beach, about 14.5 miles (23.3km) away from where it was lost, and is on its way back to Brenda.

"It's come a long way," Brenda laughed. "It still managed to have its sock on the foot which is quite funny."

Brenda said she did not know what condition the leg was in and if she would be able to wear it again, but said she was hopeful it could be fixed, adding: "Nothing's impossible."

The pair are due to meet up on Saturday to exchange the leg.

Elizabeth said: "A really kind chap, called Lee, has been cleaning the leg up.

"He's going to bring it and we're going to meet Brenda at the place that she lost it."

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