St Kilda's special delivery to mark 80th anniversary of archipelago's evacuation

A TINY St Kilda mailboat has been launched to mark the 80th anniversary of the evacuation of the archipelago.

St Kildans used to make mailboats out of a variety of waterproof containers, such as bottles and cocoa tins.

Beachcombers have been urged to look out for the green and red vessel. The replica bears the words "St Kilda Mail Please Open" and contains a year's free membership of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which owns the archipelago.

Susan Bain, who manages St Kilda for the NTS, said: "Mailboats are a poignant symbol of the isolation faced by St Kildans - a major factor in the evacuation of the islands."