Rare fungi which inspired the renowned video game and TV series The Last of Us has been found in a Kent woodland. The real-life zombie species Ophiocordyceps gracilis was discovered in Dane Valley, Margate, on April 7. It is a member of a genus that grows only on living bugs, taking over the nervous system and controlling its movements while keeping it alive. The fungi’s tendency to hijack its host inspired the hit Sky series The Last of Us, centred around a dystopian world in which a mass fungal infection causes hosts to become zombie-like creatures. Only 14 examples have been found in the UK…