From Old To Hi-Tech

And their discoveries of life on the south coast 75 million years ago are helping to put Littlehampton on the geological map, as well as the worldwide web.

Both originally from Littlehampton, they still return to the town to visit their families and to make sweeps for more specimens on West Beach, where their fascination for fossils began.

Roy, 24, was just four years old when he began collecting, after his father, Mike, gave him his first fossil, an echinoid, a type of sea urchin commonly known as a shepherd's crown, which had been found at Arundel.

"This fossil fascinated me and raised many questions in my mind. In an effort to find out more, I became aware of other creatures which lived at this time. Over the years my father took me to various places around the country to explore for fossils," said Roy.

By the age of 10 his collection was several hundred-strong, and he even contributed some of them for a temporary exhibition at Littlehampton Museum.

He introduced Lu to fossils on a stroll along West Beach a few years ago, and in spite of Roy's years of searching, it was Lu who found the first echinoid that day... and the second... and the third!

"Soon afterwards, Roy took me to other places he had visited, which were equally fascinating," said Lu, 22, whose parents, Sue and Peter Algar, live at Mantling Road, Littlehampton.

Since then, fossil collecting has taken the couple to many different parts of the country, and they are introducing other people to life in prehistoric times by leading guided tours and, now, through their internet website.

The site www.royandlu.ukfossils.info lists more than a dozen locations around the UK where fossils can be found, including Littlehampton, Amberley Chalk Pits, Bracklesham Bay and Seven Sisters, as well as along the Dorset coast, perhaps the most popular destination for collectors.

There are pictures and descriptions of the many types of fossils which can be found, and information on what life was like on earth many millions of years ago.

For the full story and pictures, see the Gazette, January 9.