A DOG with a talent for sniffing out tennis balls has given even the most diligent of archaeologists a run for their money with a historic find.

Seven-year-old Molly, a border collie cross, has had a habit of collecting balls during her walks for many years. But this time she struck gold when she dug up a 17th-century musket ball dating back to the Siege of Colchester.

Among the dozens of tennis balls, rugby balls, footballs and golf balls she has proudly bought back to baffled owner, Ted Sparrow, Molly has now trumped all other finds with this discovery.

Mr Sparrow, 77, of Langenhoe Place, in Langenhoe, near Colchester, said: “We often go on the beach in Mersea and she is always picking balls up.

“I have more than 100 rugby, tennis and golf balls all piled up in my back garden, but her latest find is definitely the most interesting yet.

“She was scratching around in the pebbles and uncovered this musket ball. It must have come up when they resurfaced the road.”

Molly, a border collie cross, found the historic ball during a walk at Pete Tye Common, in Langenhoe, which historians believe was once the camp of the New Model Army during the Siege of Colchester in 1648.

The pair were about to cross the road when Molly dug up the metal ball, which is about three quarters of an inch in diameter, and weighs about 30 grams. Rescued from a dog home when she was eight weeks old, Molly has even indulged in a spot of shoplifting to satisfy her need to add to her ball collection.

She once wandered into a shop when she was unable to find herself a ball, and took one off the shelf, much to the dismay of the shop owner. Mr Sparrow said the musket ball will be lent to his grandsons, so they can show it to their classmates at school.