Paul Chambers with daughter Eleanor.

WHEN Eleanor Chambers went to the beach with her father, all she wanted was to find some shells for her collection.

But the five-year-old has ended up baffling the UK’s scientific community after discovering what could be a brand new species.

If her find – a 3 cm long glossy white shell – is confirmed as new to science, the Trinity Primary School pupil will make history by having the species named after her.

Eleanor found the piece last August while walking along the beach at Le Hurel, Grouville, with her father, Paul, a retired research palaeontologist.

Since the find, the mysterious shell has been shown at two conferences and examined by four experts – but no one seems to know what it is.

Mr Chambers and his daughter are now facing an anxious wait to see if anyone can identify the exact species of the shell, which is believed to belong to the Atys family of shells.

See Saturday’s JEP for full story.