Nick recognised that this new and exciting fossil was indeed a rare find.

"I regularly walk this stretch of beach before and hadn't noticed it before," he said.

"The tide must have washed away some of the silt to reveal the fossil.

"I rushed home to consult the encyclopaedia, and Taunton Museum later confirmed my once-in-a-lifetime discovery."

What were Plesiosaurs?

Plesiosaurs lived worldwide between 200 and 65 million years ago.

They were air breathing marine reptiles that occuppied the warm seas of the Jurassic and Cretacious.

There were many different forms, but this one had a turtle-shaped body, four paddles, a long neck and a small head.

They were all carnivorous, and this one was hunting prey in Somerset 188 million years ago.

Saving the fossil

The museum had to act fast to save the fossil, and permission was sought from the landowner and English Nature to excavate it.

Dennis Parsons, the museum's geologist, was delighted.

	Museum staff worked tirelessly to save the fossil

"Without Mr Collard's keen observation and quick-thinking this rare and scientifically important specimen would not have been rescued for the museum," he said.

"Plesiosaurs are very rare fossils, so you would be very lucky to find even a single bone or tooth.

"Not only did he find a complete specimen, but it was fully exposed and beautifully preserved."

The recovery of fossil reptiles is a difficult, but exciting process, and a rescue excavation was started immediately.

Working with English Nature's Reserve Manager Robin Prowse, the museum field staff team worked tirelessly for hours in heavy rain to recover the complete skeleton.

The fossil was excavated in four blocks, which also contained numerous fossil ammonites which were used to date it.

	The fossil is on temporary display at the Somerset County Museum

Once recovered the fossil was taken to the Natural History Museum in London, where it was carefully washed to remove the salt, and dried very slowly so as to reduce flaking.

It has now been returned to Taunton, and is on temporary display at the County Museum, Taunton Castle.

Post excavation work - painstaking work with air-powered tools and hand-held mounted needles - leading to permanent display and research, is expensive, and the race is now on to raise the £15,000 needed to complete the work.

The resulting specimen will be sufficiently restored for experts to identify and name, and could prove to be a previously unknown species.