Bexley: A one-and-a-half metre elephant tusk dating back 400,000 years has been discovered in the foundation trench of a school building site in Swanscombe.

The find at Swan Valley Community School, has excited fossil experts as it is close to where Swanscombe man was found an ancestor to Neanderthals, who lived 400,000 years ago alongside elephants, rhinos and red deer.

The tusk, half-a-metre below the surface of the ground and preserved in river gravel, was spotted by a team of archaeologists from Southampton University who were monitoring building work at the site, off Southfleet Road.

Kent County Council archaeologist Lis Dyson said: "This is a very exciting find. The tusk must have been washed away in tributary of the Thames and the elephants bones scattered elsewhere."

Natural History Museum fossil expert Chris Stringer said: "To find a complete tusk is quite rare and will add to information about the species.

"We already know that during the period in question creatures including elephants inhabited the UK mainland for about 20,000 to 40,000 years. The land was forested and had a similar climate to today."

Building work in the trench has been suspended while enquiries are made to try and preserve and display the tusk at the school.