PREHISTORIC flint tools were a surprise discovery at an archaeological dig run by TV presenter Julian Richards at a school in Shaftesbury.

Three trenches were dug in fields next to St James's Church, adjacent to Abbey Primary School and every pupil was allowed to visit them during the course of last week.

Headteacher Pete Meacham was impressed with their eagerness and said: "I have never seen the children so enthusiastic as they have been this week. It has been a real success."

Mr Richards, a Shaftesbury resident and mainstay of the hit TV programme Meet The Ancestors, was surprised and delighted when the children's diligent digging unearthed a mesolithic stone tool.

He said: "We think there were medieval dwellings here and we were expecting to find a lot of old pottery, but we were not expecting to find stone tools such as this.

"The flint that was found is a blade that has been worked by a very skilled flintworker and is at least 6,000 years old.

"Another smaller one was found in the same trench later that afternoon, which is very exciting for me as I am obsessed with our prehistoric ancestors."

The discovery was made by eagle-eyed Tammy Pike, aged nine, in year four. The tool will either be kept at the school or donated to Gold Hill Musuem.

The project was the brainchild of Claire Ryley, an education volunteer from Shaftesbury Museum who won funding for the project from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for the South West.

She said: "It's a fascinating site and the children have responded amazingly well and had great fun getting covered in dirt.

"It is a great way for the children to learn about local history as they can actually see and touch things from the past. I'm really pleased with the way things have gone and I must say thanks to Julian who has been very generous with his time and even made some of the equipment we have been using himself."