Oxford scientists are to test strands of hair believed to have come from a Yeti-like creature.

The hair, along with a footprint, was discovered by a group of British explorers on the Indonesian island of Western Sumatra. A digital reprint of the footprint has been sent to the University of Canberra, Australia, and the hair samples are being sent to the microbiology unit at Oxford University.

If the finds are substantiated, they could provide valuable clues to an unidentified creature that could hold the key to the missing link between humans and apes. Three men spent three weeks in the rainforests tracking a 5ft creature called Orang Pendek (Little Man of the Forest).