Newcastle - come on in, the waters lovely.

Earlier this week, scientists drilling a geo-thermal bore in Newcastle struck 'gold'.

As we reported last year, they were drilling on the site of the former Newcastle Brewery, hoping to tap into a plentiful geo-thermal resource, that could eventually power the entire city.

As they watched steam rush to the surface after drilling 2km (6,562ft), other scientists were getting equally excited about the fossil records that had been bought back to the surface during the drilling.

Samples show early indications that the area was once a Bahama like paradise.

The 300-million year old rocks were extracted from 100ft below the surface during the drilling project which cost £900,000.

The team is aiming to use green geo-thermal energy to heat and power the immediate city centre.

photo credit: joanna penn

There's a 'hole lot' going on in Newcastle

Spotted in the Journal Live....

A story about experts in Newcastle hoping to drill 2000 mtrs below the surface to tap into 'hot rocks' which could be used to provide green energy for the homes and businesses above.

Scientists hope to drill boreholes - 100 times the height of the Angel of the North - on the site of the former Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site after maps published by the British Geological Survey identified it as an area of geothermal potential.

They've already proved the worth of a 1km deep twin bore hole system by bringing to the surface water with a temperature of 40 degrees C.

Read more by clicking here.

photo credit: thomas ormston