A 1940s beach photo has claimed to prove that time travel is real.

It shows hundreds of Brits getting away from World War II and enjoying a stretch on the beach.

But an apparent sunbather, among the scores of others, seems to be from a different era.

The image showed families relaxing on the sands in Cornwall in September 1943, yet there is an apparent imposter on the crowded beach.

A brown-suited man, who is standing, can be seen looking at an object in his hand which appears to be a modern-day smartphone - far removed from the 1940s.

Social media users became involved in a debate over what was preoccupying him.

The image showed what appeared to be an imposter in the World War Two image in Cornwall
The image showed what appeared to be an imposter in the World War Two image in Cornwall ( 
Image: 
Getty Images/Popperfoto Creative)

He was nicknamed "texting time traveller" after the image appeared to show him scrolling through the mobile device.

But the claims were laughed off and dubbed 'ridiculous' by others, who insisted he was just rolling a cigarette.

Some social media users insisted the photograph at Towan Beach, Newquay provided evidence "that time travel is real".

One comment read: "Er...is it just me or is this guy checking his phone…..in the 1940s?"

Another responded: "Shows how much beachwear has changed! Jacket, tie and hat? Mind they did that when I was a kid in the 50s."

The war workers on holiday in Cornwall image sparked a debate about one person on the beach
The war workers on holiday in Cornwall image sparked a debate about one person on the beach ( 
Image: 
Getty Images/Popperfoto Creative)

A third added: "Good catch. It’s clearly the man in the shot is a time travelling tourist checking his mobile device.

"Finally the evidence we need that time travel is real."

But the theory was rebuffed by one user who said: "I think that chap is rolling a cigarette!"

Other historic images have also caused a stir among time travel believers in recent weeks.

The Mirror reported recently how unearthed footage from 1938 offered ‘proof’ that time travel was real, according to some commentators.

In the clip of people walking toward the camera, one young woman can be seen holding something to the side of her head.

Conspiracy theorists claimed the woman had been caught on film chatting on a mobile phone, decades before the technology was invented.

The woman can be seen chatting as she walks in the crowd of people, with the device clamped to the side of her head with one hand. She then lowers it before the film clip ends.