THE Huntworth site destined to become home to the South-West's regional rural business centre has discovered it already has a long-standing inhabitant - a prehistoric farm site dating back to the Iron Age.

The centre - billed as a "one-stop shop for farmers" - won planning permission in the spring, and foundation work is underway on a development which will create 1,000 jobs and provide a massive financial boon for Bridgwater.

But as initial building stages begin, an "exciting" discovery was made.

Evidence was uncovered which showed the site, just off the M5, was being farmed at least 2,500 years ago. Investigations by experts have since unearthed the remains of two Iron Age houses, complete with compounds and fields.

Steve Membury, of Somerset County Council's archaeology team, said: "An Iron Age farm is an exciting discovery.

"It shows just how important it is to check sites before new developments."

A team from Wessex Archaeology was called in to carry out the month-long dig, after aerial photography provided a clue as to the site's secret.

A geophysical survey and some carefully-placed trenches allowed the experts to carry out an early assessment, and subsequent discoveries included the remains of broken pots and pieces of baked clay which may have been used in the creation of textiles.

The discovery will not delay the agricultural centre's construction, but Wessex Archaeology's Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick said it had yielded some invaluable information about prehistoric farming patterns.

He said: "Somerset has some well-preserved Iron Age hill forts, and the famous Glastonbury Lake Village, but only two farms have been excavated before.

"One was at Christon, near Winscombe, and was found in 1970 as the M5 was being built. Now, all sites are checked for archaeology before building starts."