A MODERN-DAY Indiana Jones claimed last night that he had found proof that the abominable snowman really does exist.

North-East crypto-zoologist Andrew Sanderson has taken plaster casts of a footprint which, he says, proves that a race of ape-men is still alive in remote parts of the world.

In Tibet, tribesmen call the shy creatures yeti while westerners prefer the abominable snowman. In North America, the local Indians speak of Sasquatch.

In the rainforests of Western Sumatra, where Mr Sanderson recently led a British expeditionary party, the creatures are called the Orang Pendek.

Andrew, 30, from Jesmond, Newcastle, spent three weeks searching for the beast - a possible missing link between humans and apes. He said: "Over the years there have been many sightings of the yeti, but no one has actually come up with any concrete evidence. We seem to be the first people to do that.

"We didn't see the creature ourselves but we tracked it for several weeks and we managed to make a plaster cast of one of its footprints. "It is absolutely perfect and experts are already beginning to get excited about it."

The team also found hair which they believe could belong to the elusive creature.

The samples are currently being analysed by experts, and Mr Sanderson is hopeful they will prove the yeti is not just a myth.

Next year, his team plans to travel to the Gobi Desert in search of the Mongolian Death Worm