Face of Jesus seen in pebble on Cromer beach - or is it Karl Marx?

The stone found on Cromer beach which has a passing resemblance to Jesus or Karl Marx set in a profile of a dog or a bear.Picture: MARK BULLIMORE (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

So perhaps it is not all that surprising that the face of Jesus has now been identified on a beach pebble.

The stone was spotted on Cromer beach, close to the pier, by a local resident.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, picked up the stone after the extreme whiteness on the other side caught her eye.

'When I turned it over it looked like a black and white photograph. I'm going to keep it,' she said.

19th Cenutry Communist thinker Karl Marx. Photo: PA Wire

It was her boyfriend who suggested the image looked like Christ, although bearded characters have also been suggested.

Some, for instance, have detected a likeness with Karl Marx, the Communist thinker, and larger-than-life actor Brian Blessed.

Jim Morrison, the late lead singer with The Doors, has also been suggested. Others claim to have seen the face within the profile of a bear's head.

The image of Jesus has been seen in a staggering range of unlikely places. They include:

• The wood grain in the door of the gents' toilets at Ikea's Braehead, Glasgow, branch;

• The pattern of the browned fat in an oven tray, left after a Harrogate builder had cooked himself a burger;

• Shapes in the mould behind a man's fridge in Herne Bay, Kent.

• Marmite cleaving to the lid of its jar;

• Plasterwork in a Sunderland Chinese takeaway;

• Naan bread served up at a curry restaurant in Esher, Surrey;

• Bruising on the arm of Mary Massa, from Florida;

• Feathers of a chicken called Gloria, owned by Michael Grainger, of Rowley Regis, West Midlands.