Afossilised mammoth tusk found on a building site has been retrieved from a 30ft pit and is on its way to a museum.

Cheers rang out as scientists and building crews used a crane to retrieve and hoist the tusk from the pit in central Seattle, Washington, to a waiting flatbed lorry. The tusk was placed on a pallet, encased in plaster and covered in blankets.

It is believed to be from a Columbian mammoth and was measured at 8.5ft long. Paleontologist Christian Sidor says the tusk is between 22,000 and 60,000 years old.