Footprint of two-toed dinosaur "found on Folkestone shore"

A dinosaur footprint thought to be the first of its kind discovered in the UK has been found off the coast of Kent.

The fossilised imprint was found by an amateur fossil hunter, Philip Hadland, near the Warren at Folkestone.

He said two toes from "potentially a large bird-like dinosaur walking around the shores of Folkestone 100 million years ago" were clearly visible.

Mr Hadland, of Canterbury's Beaney Art Museum, said nothing like it had "ever been recorded before from Britain".

"When a footprint is made it makes an indentation in the sand, which gets filled with other sediment, and this is what has happened here.

"Similar track ways and foot casts have been found in other parts of the world, but they normally have three toes and are known to have been made by Iguanodon," he added.

'Late occurring'

The discovery was uncovered in the Cretaceous Lower Greensand, on the foreshore at Folkestone.

The imprint has been sent to the Natural History Museum for confirmation.

Dr Paul Barrett, a dinosaur researcher at the museum, said: "These footprints are interesting because they are quite late occurring and they may turn out to be some of the latest dinosaurs to have been found in the UK."

Mr Hadland will present his discovery in more detail for the first time in a talk at the Turner Contemporary in Margate on Saturday.