Man famous for eating roadkill plans to have dolphin for Christmas dinner

A man famous for eating roadkill has revealed he will be having dolphin for his Christmas dinner - which he found dead on a beach.

Arthur Boyt has spent years dining on dead animals such as weasels, hedgehogs, squirrels and otters.

The 76-year-old from Cornwall scoops up the flattened carcasses before taking them home and turning them into meals or freezing them for later.

Last Christmas he tucked into badger casserole but this year he will eat common dolphin which he says he found washed up on a beach near his home.

But it could land him in trouble with the Queen - as experts say all dolphins found on Britain's coast belong to the crown.

The retired biologist said the marine mammal tastes so "delicious" he has already eaten some of it along with a seal he found in the same spot.

But Danny Groves, a spokesman for the Whales & Dolphin Conservation, said eating dolphin found on a beach is a crime as well as being a health hazard.

"Whales and dolphins are not public property - they belong to the Crown. If they do get washed up they should be removed by local authority," he said.

"A washed up dolphin or whale could be riddled with disease so anyone eating the animal is putting themselves at serious risk."

A spokesman for Defra said a law may only have been broken if Arthur had transported the dolphin.

The eccentric pensioner will be spending Christmas with his wife, Su, and his 90-year-old mother-in-law - but they will not be eating dolphin.

Arthur said: "My wife is a vegetarian so she doesn't eat the dishes I cook.

"There will still be a traditional turkey on Christmas Day but I don't like buying and eating meat.

"I feel very strongly about killing animals. I can only just about manage a chicken leg at a party or something."

Arthur started eating roadkill aged 13 and says the oddest-tasting food he's ever had is bat.