Mum and daughter discover one of world's largest known coral colonies in Australia

A mum and her daughter have discovered the biggest coral colony ever found off the coast of Australia - and possibly anywhere in the world.

The discovery was made at the Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of the north-east of Australia.

Experts say the colony is around 111 metres long - that's about the same length as a Premier League football pitch.

Conservation charity Citizens of the Reef, say the coral is: "Among the most significant coral structures ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef, and the largest documented and mapped coral colony in the world."

The discovery was made by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope and her mother Jan Pope, as part of The Great Reef Census, run by Citizens of the Reef.

This project sees members of the public - including divers, boat owners and volunteers from all over the world - help scientists monitor the health of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The duo came across the new find, while they were diving at the Great Barrier Reef.

"I knew right from the minute we dropped in that it was something special," Sophie said.

"When I got in the water, I'd never seen coral growing like this before," Jan added.

"It looked like a meadow of coral. It just went on and on."

When they got back to dry land, the pair informed the Citizens of the Reef conservation charity, who went out to check the site.

Using special cameras, underwater measurements and 3D computer models, scientists were able to measure the size of the colony.

Serena Mou, from Queensland University of Technology Centre for Robotics, who helped measure the colony, explained the benefits of the mapping.

"It means we can return in future months and years and make direct, one-to-one comparisons to understand how the coral changes over time."

The team calculated that the new discovery measured around 111 metres in length, and covered an estimated footprint area of nearly 4,000 square metres.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which manages the reef, are now looking into the newly discovered site.

Experts also discovered that the site has strong water currents and is more sheltered from big storms than other parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

These environmental conditions are now being examined by scientists to better understand how they might help coral grow so large.