'My finds aged 11 reveal 8,500-year-old remains'

Nathan Hazlehurst, now in his 30s, said it was incredible to think the latest discovery all started due to what he found as an 11-year-old

Work sparked by young archaeologists 20 years ago has led to the discovery of evidence of human activity dating back 8,500 years.

Fragments of Roman pottery and flints, along with animal and human bones, as well as evidence of graves have been uncovered in the Worcestershire field.

But the "really rare" Mesolithic era evidence might still lie hidden, were it not for a field walk in 2004, by children in the county's Young Archaeologists' Club.

"This even goes back to potentially before this island became an island – during the ‘Mesolithic’ era, that is when Britain became what it is today," said Nina O’Hare, from Worcestershire archive and archaeology service.

A full archaeological dig has been taking place at the Milestone Ground, in Broadway, throughout this year and thousands of items have been uncovered.

Former club member Nathan Hazlehurst, who was 11 at the time of the dig, told the BBC how he had "come across those flints and lots of Roman pottery", describing the discovery as "amazing".

He said: "I remember walking across the field, wrapped up warm on a cold day, and finding some of this stuff. It's incredible to think we started this all those years ago."

He added it had been "great that they trusted us to actually do it".

"At the time, we were one of the first branches [of young archaeologists] to actually do field work like that," he said.

"It’s incredible to think what's happening at the site now."

These fragments of pottery were found at the site

Talks are taking place about how to put on display at least some of the artefacts from the Wychavon District Council-owned land.

"Having that much history to add to Broadway’s story is really rare to find," added Ms O'Hare.

This beaker vessel dates from the Early Bronze Age between 2400 and 1700BC

Worcestershire council archaeologist Jamie Wilkins said "it really is a remarkable site".

"There’s about eight-and-a-half thousand years of history here," he explained.

"We're collecting quite a lot of Mesolithic flints and they’ve been worked into little blades, often used for processing.

“Mesolithic finds are really rare, but they seem to be littered across the site, which is quite something. This is the best site I’ve ever worked on.”

The site is secure while the dig carries on, with the project expected to finish by the spring before the land is sold for development.

An open day will be held at the site on 12 October, between 11:00 BST and 15:00, when guided tours will be conducted.