Some of the earliest living creatures in this area were the dinosaurs, one of which left a footprint in the fossilised pine raft at Hanover Point in the late Cretaceous period, many millions of years ago when the chalk deposits of today’s cliffs and downs were formed.

The Iguanadon dinosaur was the size of a bus (see left). It was vegetarian and fed on pine forests in the area.

Right: a fossilised Iguanadon ball joint found in the sea off Brook.