THE Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone was closed today following the earthquake that struck in east Kent on Saturday.

An inspection of the building yesterday revealed several cracks in the exterior walls which resulted in head teacher Phil Harding deciding to keep the doors shut throughout today.

Surveyors went to the school to carry out a detailed investigation. The cracks were in the main building, which was built in 1927.

Mr Harding said: "When there are 930 pupils and 120 staff on site we cannot afford to compromise their safety.

"The surveyors confirmed our initial impressions and are carrying out an inspection. We hope we will be closed for just one day."

Meanwhile, Folkestone's famous dolphin, Dave, is fit and well following the earthquake - contrary to rumours which said otherwise.

Many heard that a dolphin carcass had been washed up on the beach on Saturday, hours after the quake - but the area was searched and nothing was found.

There was concern for Dave, the solitary dolphin who has been swimming along the shore between Folkestone and Hythe for the past year, as he wasn’t seen for several hours, but he was once again ducking and diving near the beach at Sandgate by mid-afternoon.

There were also stories that Dave sensed the earthquake was going to happen and was swimming extremely close to shore. National newspaper reports at the weekend suggested Dave was trying to warn people something untoward was about to happen.

However Jason Carter, from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation, which has been keeping an eye on Dave, said: “These stories are all fictitious. There was no body washed up. There wasn’t one official call about this.

“Also Dave was not around just before the earthquake. I have someone who looks for him first thing in the morning every day and she said he wasn’t in view, so stories of him acting strangely are not true.”

Mr Carter also refuted a story in a local newspaper last week about Dave coming to Shepway a year ago with another dolphin nicknamed Daphne.

He said Dave came to the Shepway ares alone and remains because of plentiful fishing stocks, not to mourn a companion who died in the vicinity.