THE first archaeological dig for decades in Torbay's oldest home has been delayed due to red tape.

Britain's leading Stone Age archaeologists wanted to start a hunt for 40,000-year-old Neanderthal flint hand axes at Kents Cavern, Torquay.

It was hoped to start an archaeological dig during the first week of September but now cavern owner Nick Powe said: "The dig has been postponed to April 2009.

"The necessary permissions are too late coming to commence in two weeks' time.

"An advantage is that we can wrap the dig under the Darwin200 theme, celebrating the 200th birthday of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin."

A team from Sheffield University wanted to open a small exploratory trench at the entrance to the caves which has been owned by the Powe family for three generations.

They are specifically looking for leaf point stone hand axes, which are more commonly associated with humans but they hope to link them to Neanderthals.

Mr Powe said: "We are disappointed the dig is not taking place this September but it is quite understandable.

"As a Scheduled Ancient Monument, Kents Cavern has the highest level of protection available in the nation and we have to obtain consent to disturb the cave in anyway.

"This consent has to come directly from the Culture Minister's office and, at this stage, this hasn't come through.

"Given the limited time available, we have postponed the excavation to early 2009.

"The additional time gives us more opportunity to promote the dig nationally and even internationally through our links to the Geopark.

"Being the first dig in decades and given that the nation will be celebrating Darwin's life in 2009, the interest in the Kents Cavern dig is sure to attract many people."

The trench was to be near the entrance in an area believed to have been undisturbed by Victorian archaeologist William Pengelly who explored the caves between 1865 and 1880.

For the dig to go ahead Mr Powe had to get permission from ancient monument guardians English Heritage. He said: "It is an exciting project looking at a specific area.

"If they do find hand axes, there are techniques which can extract DNA from the artefact which will allow them to confirm if they have been used by Neanderthals."

The plan was to keep the cave open and to allow visitors to see what is going on but the postponement means it can be tied in with national events to mark the 200th birthday of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin who came up with the theory of evolution after travelling the world.

The caves are known for their geological formations and are thought to be the oldest Stone Age home in Britain, and it was also used by cave bears and hyenas, and include the remains of mammoth, sabre toothed cats and woolly rhinos.

The oldest human bone in Britain was found in the cavern, a fragment of jawbone dated at 37,000 to 40,000 years old. Research is trying to discover if the piece is from a Neanderthal or a modern human.

The last major work in the caves was in the 1920s and 1930s. Kents Cavern is the only Ice Age site in the UK where it may be possible to determine when Neanderthals became extinct and humans arose.

The project is a joint venture between archaeologists Dr Paul Pettitt, from Sheffield, and Dr Mark White, of Durham University.