It wasn't quite a message to turn on the water works.

But when workers saw a note inside a milk bottle they were intrigued.

It was a blast from the past - from when the Bohemian Rhapsody was number one, the Vietnam War was raging and a bloke called Phil Collins became lead singer with Genesis.

Now, 36 years later, the message in a bottle has surfaced at a Tonbridge water treatment works.

It was when South East Water staff were removing a concrete plinth in the pump room - as part of a £2.3m refit - that the bottle came to light.

The note had been written by workers on what seems to have been a similar project back in 1975.

The message reads "This was erected by Dell the carpenter and Gareth the labourer 15 October 1975", and looks to be signed D Radford.

Ted Beaney, who works for South East Water's contractor, Bam Nuttall, said:"I found the note while I was breaking up the old concrete plinth ready to install the new work. The machine I use seemed to break through this one section very easily, which seemed strange.

"I went and took a look and found the note and broken milk bottle. I've never found a note like this before so it was quite a surprise. It would be great if we could find out more about the people who put it there."

Desmond Brown, South East Water's head of engineering, said he would love to get in touch with the message senders.

He added: "We would love to let them know that we found their note all these years later and maybe show them that their hard work kept Tonbridge supplied with water for the last 36 years!"

The modern engineers are carrying out the refurbishment scheme at Tonbridge Water Treatment Works to improve treatment processes.