How to remove extra space between footnote separator and 1st footnote. No para breaks present.

[Swarup]

There is extra space between the footnote separator and the first footnote. I have tried showing all hidden symbols, and there are no para breaks or other symbols seen beneath the footnote separator. I have tried going into Draft view, then choosing References>Show Notes>Footnotes:Footnote Separator. Even there, there are no paragraph breaks. The only thing which I do see is, beneath the footnote separator there is a dash. But I cannot scroll down to it, nor can I delete it. Could this dash be the reason for the extra space, and if so, how do I remove it?