A TIME capsule well over 100 years old has been found during the restoration of an old Devon coaching hotel.

The capsule, dated April, 1897, contained newspapers and letters written by two builders working on the restoration of the hotel over 100 years earlier.

In the letter, the writer refers to a huge storm which blew off the roofs of several local houses, as well as the outbreak of war between Greece and Turkey.

Selected sections of the newspapers and both letters are now available for the public to view at the Red Lion Hotel, Chulmleigh, where they were found.

Sylvia Gilson, who has been collecting material for the Chulmleigh Old Fair archive since 1977, put together the display of the time capsule contents.

She was excited about the finding.

She said: "The newspapers are in excellent condition, and it's great to have a bit of history of the Red Lion Hotel."

There are plans to copy the originals and place them in another time capsule,

The Red Lion is a 17th century listed coaching building and the restoration has brought many of the hotel's original features back to their former glory.