A MAMMOTH tooth “as big as a boot” has been hailed as a find of the century.

Wendy and John Booth, who often go looking for fossils around the Naze in Walton, discovered the treasure there.

Experts say it is three million years old.

Wendy said: “We were out on the foreshore in Walton by the pill boxes, right out passed the tower.

“At first I just thought it was a lump of brown concrete. It was probably dredged up by a boat.

“I was ecstatic when I realised what it was. You are never going to find anything like it around here. It just doesn’t happen. We have never found anything like this before.

“You could call it a find of the century. We are keeping it as a souvenir and are proudly displaying it in our cabinet at home.”

The couple, from Cliffe in Kent, have in recent years been regular visitors to the Naze, often fossicking at the cliffs with Walton friends Stephen and Rhoda Ryder.

Rhoda said: “We have found sharks teeth and bones, run of the mill stuff, but nothing as big as this. It’s as big as a boot. Naze is famous for finding fossils.”

Steven Walker, publicity officer at Naze education and visitors centre, said: “It’s a very rare find.”

The Walton cliffs are famous for finding sharks teeth, which come out of the London clay - a sediment which was laid out 50 million years ago.

The mammoth tooth will have come from the Red Crag formation which was laid out three million years ago.

Mr Walker explained: “They have been turning up in Clacton. They theory is they were dredged up in the sand that was used to recharge the beaches in Holland.

“We know mammoth bones have been found in Walton which are nothing to do with the dredging.

“Thus, it’s a genuine Red Crag fossil, dating back three million years.”

Mr Walker warned people are not allowed to dig for fossils on the cliffs although they are allowed to pick them up on the beach.

He said the recently opened centre has a geographical display which highlights the tropical climate of 50 million years ago when sharks would feed on the smaller fish around Essex shores.

“It’s a great place to learn about this,” he added.