Scientists have uncovered a dinosaur's watering hole under a college football field during excavations for a new lake.

The surprise discovery has been described as "extremely rare" and gives an insight into how the area may have looked 230 million years ago during the Triassic period.

Dr John Hindley was co-ordinating a project to excavate rock from the base of the new lake at Edge Hill College of Higher Education in Ormskirk, Lancashire, when he noticed ancient mud deposits which were characteristic of a still water environment.

Mr Lucas said the UK as it was then would have been situated around the equator and would have looked similar to today's Death Valley in the United States.

Further analysis

Over the past two months a team of scientists have built up a picture of how the area might have looked millions of years ago.

"This lake would have been a watering hole for dinosaurs roaming around the area," said Mr Lucas.

"It is extremely rare to find lake deposits like this and we have taken samples and will be carrying out further analysis."

He said a likely dinosaur to have been in the area would have been the mysterious Chirotherium, of which no remains have ever been found, only footprints.

No dinosaur footprints or fossils had been found in the area.