A woman has found a crisp packet dating from 1977 on the beach at Hemsby.

Hannah Yeldham, who is a seal warden and regular litter picker, found the packet of Smith's ready salted crisps on Sunday morning (June 5) just as platinum celebrations were in full swing.

She said it was timely given that it dated back to the Queen's silver jubilee and also chimed with the platinum festivities and their focus on the environment.

Mrs Yeldham said the packet was among two sacks of rubbish she collected on the beach and dunes at Hemsby.

She had intended to shrink it to make a key ring - a pastime that was popular in the 80s and 90s - after being told modern packets didn't work as well.

After her husband noted its age she had decided to keep it as a educational tool and vivid reminder that rubbish doesn't simply disappear when people leave it behind.

"It is still in tip-top condition.

"It hasn't even started to break down," she said.

"I just went for a walk on my own and collected two bags of rubbish. This was among it all.

"I found it at the base of the dunes. Maybe it has been there all this time and uncovered recently because the dunes have collapsed."

The packet features an advert for an offer inviting snack lovers to collect five special packets and send them off with £1.10 to receive a personalised t-shirt.

The closing date was given as December 31, 1977.

"I am just gutted I can't find another four," she joked.

Since posting about her find on social media someone else had come forward to say they had one from the same year, but pickled onion flavour.

She added that it wasn't a one-off and that she had picked up other packets from the 90s and 2,000s, although never one from the 70s which was a year older than her.

Mrs Yeldham and her litter-hero son Theo picked up 16kg of rubbish in 24 hours over the weekend with broken glass, fishing hooks, bottles, cans, and beach toys among the detritus.

Smith's Crisps were made in Great Yarmouth at a purpose-built factory in Caister Road which opened in 1934. The factory shut in 1981.

The name lives on and is run by Walkers, which in turn is a subsidiary of Pepsico.

Crunch time

As a child of the 1970s I may well have been munching on Smith's crisps in the hope of collecting enough tokens for a personalised t-shirt, writes Liz Coates.

Five decade ago I would have been sporting some groovy flowered frocks and swooning over John Travolta on the cover of the 1978 album Grease.

With a pocketful of Spangles and Pacers I coveted Huggy Bear, a brown and beige teddy that clung to your arm - the disappointment of never having received this must-have toy still smarting to this day.

Not to worry, I still had my Fashion Wheel, Sindy, Pippa, and Bionic Woman dolls with a Vesta curry or Fray Bentos pie on the table for tea.

After that there would be a cartoon on at 5.35pm and then a long wait until my favourite Champion the Wonder Horse was on the telly on Saturday - my brother and I taking turns to annoy each other and our parents in between to pass the time.