A LOCAL fossil hunter has donated a piece of the Jurassic era to his local surgery, to try to put a smile on health workers' faces.

Tony Cooke, from Bridport, has donated a large ammonite fossil estimated to be 180 million years old to the town's Ammonite Health Partnership, which staff have displayed prominently in reception.

Tony, 64, said: "Medical staff have been stars over the pandemic, and even now have been so busy recently working to keep us healthy. I just wanted to give them something that would a smile on their faces.

Tony is an artist and mural painter who has been hunting for fossils since he was ten.

He says he found the fossil, which is 10 inches in diameter, whilst searching near Burton Bradstock, his favourite area to hunt for the pre-historic curiosities.

Tony spends a few hours two or three times a week looking for fossils with his hammer and chisel, and says he found the fossil shortly after a large rock fall in February, which has proven to be a treasure trove of fossils.

He added: "I have over 150 fossils in my collection, and when I registered at the medical centre I thought 'I bet they don't have a real ammonite'. I thought it would really cheer up the people working there and visiting to have a real ammonite on display.

"It is an enjoyable experience to crack open a rock and see a fossil that no one else has laid eyes on that has existed for hundred of millions of years. It can be quite a shock just how detailed they are.

"I am very pleased that they were so thrilled to have it."

Patient Services Manager at the Ammonite Health Partnership Claire Gregory said: "I love the fossil, it gives people waiting by reception a curiosity to look at and discuss, and we want to thank Tony Cooke for donating it.

"I have been fossil searching myself, as has everyone in the area, and I've never found one nearly that big.

"It is a very unusual donation and think it is great having such a curiosity at reception."