Archaeologists are racing against time to excavate a burial mound before it collapses into the sea.

The earliest parts of the find, on the top of cliffs at Peacehaven Heights, have been dated to around 8,000 years BC but due to the eroding cliffs, is slowly crumbling into the sea.

Excavations carried out at the Scheduled Ancient Monument over the past two weeks have uncovered tools dating back to the Mesolithic period when experts believe the area may have been wooded and home to early hunter-gatherers.

More than 30 volunteer archaeologists have already found a flint arrowhead from the late Neolithic period and pieces of pottery dating from the Bronze Age when the burial mound was built some 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.

But much more recent discoveries have also been found there.

During the Second World War, it was used by soldiers defending the coastline and a nearby radar station, which has since been demolished.

These war-time trenches, along with other finds from the same period, were recorded by archaeologists during preliminary excavations last September.

But despite the numerous discoveries on the site, the steady erosion of the cliffs means it will almost certainly be unsafe to access within the next few years and could collapse into the sea within the next 25 years.

In order to document the site before it disappears, English Heritage and the landowner have agreed to excavate it with help from Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society and the Mid Sussex Field Archaeological Team.

Any finds from the mound will be donated to the Brighton and Hove Museum.