Dinosaur hunters find 180-million-year-old 'sea dragon' skeleton with one-tonne skull

“However, it was only after our exploratory dig that we realised that it was practically complete to the tip of the tail.”

He added: “It’s a highly significant discovery both nationally and internationally but also of huge importance to the people of Rutland and the surrounding area.”

Nigel Larkin, a specialist palaeontological conservator, said: “It’s not often you are responsible for safely lifting a very important but very fragile fossil weighing that much.

“It is a responsibility, but I love a challenge. It was a very complex operation to uncover, record, and collect this important specimen safely.”