Crisp packet from 1971 found perfectly preserved washed up on a beach

A MARINE biologist was left stunned after discovering a packet of Golden Wonder crisps washed up on a beach – dating back to 1971.

Dr Lauren Smith, 37, found the salt and vinegar flavoured snack at Ythan Estuary, in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, while walking her dog Tattie, aged four, along the shore.

The crisp packet has survived nearly half a century in the sand and Dr Smith said it was perfectly preserved – after years of protection from direct sunlight.

Dr Smith, a marine biologist and coastal ecologist, said recent stormy weather has eroded nearby dunes to reveal the packet.

During the same walk she also found a bottle of Fairy Liquid, which she believes dates back to around the same time as the crisps.

Dr Smith said the packet, which was priced at 4d, is the oldest piece of litter she has ever found washed up.

Conservationist Dr Smith, from Newburgh, said: “I found the crisp and the Fairy Liquid during the same walk, on the same day.

“They have to be as early as 1971 at least because of the price marked on them of 4d and 5d.

“The D means pence but was not marked as a ‘P’ until after Feb 1971 when decimalisation occurred in Britain.

“I was just walking my dog along the beach and they were lying on the sand.

“Big storm surges erode the surrounding dune area and reveal all sorts of rubbish that has effectively been ‘locked in’ for years.

“When the rubbish is covered up in the sand it prevents degradation by the UV from the sunlight so colours and print can be very well preserved.”

Dr Smith plans to donate the crisp packet to the Macduff Marine Aquarium in Aberdeenshire, to form part of a display on marine plastic pollution.