A new study has revealed that tyrannosaurs once roamed East Sussex.

The research, led by the University of Southampton, found that several groups of meat-eating dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs, spinosaurs, and Velociraptor-like predators, lived in the Bexhill-on-Sea region about 135 million years ago.

The study in Papers in Palaeontology, published on Thursday, marks the first time tyrannosaurs have been identified in sediments of this age and region.

The discovery was made by analysing various types of theropod dinosaur teeth.

The University of Southampton team used several techniques, including phylogenetic, discriminant, and machine learning methods, and worked with colleagues at London’s Natural History Museum, the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, and the Museo Miguel Lillo De Ciencias Naturales in Argentina.

These newly discovered tyrannosaurs were likely about a third of the size of the well-known Tyrannosaurus rex and probably hunted small dinosaurs and other reptiles in their floodplain habitat.

Dr Chris Barker, visiting researcher at the University of Southampton and lead author of the research, said: "Meat-eating dinosaurs – properly called theropods – are rare in the Cretaceous sediments of southern England.

"Usually, Isle of Wight dinosaurs attract most of our attention. Much less is known about the older Cretaceous specimens recovered from sites on the mainland.

"Dinosaur teeth are tough fossils and are usually preserved more frequently than bone. For that reason, they’re often crucial when we want to reconstruct the diversity of an ecosystem.

"Rigorous methods exist that can help identify teeth with high accuracy. Our results suggest the presence of spinosaurs, mid-sized tyrannosaurs and tiny dromaeosaurs – Velociraptor-like theropods – in these deposits."

The discovery was significantly aided by retired quarryman Dave Brockhurst.

Mr Brockhurst has spent the past 30 years uncovering fossils from Ashdown Brickworks.

His finds range from partial dinosaur skeletons to tiny shark teeth, with around 5,000 of his discoveries already donated to Bexhill Museum.

Theropods are exceptionally rare at the site, and Mr Brockhurst has found around 10 specimens there so far.

These newly discovered dinosaur teeth are now part of the collection at Bexhill Museum in East Sussex.

The research was funded by the University of Southampton’s Institute for Life Sciences.