Man finds 'whale vomit' potentially worth thousands

When most of us go to beach, we might expect to find a bit of seaweed and maybe the odd crab. We don't expect to stumble across a substance potentially worth thousands of pounds.

That's exactly what happened to Alan Derrick. He was on a beach near Weston-super-Mare with his son Tom when they came across a peculiar looking white rock.

Alan thinks the strange object could be ambergris - otherwise known as whale vomit.

If he's right, he could have found his fortune, as the rare object is said to be worth thousands of pounds.

What is ambergris and why is it so valuable?

The strange substance is made in the digestive systems of sperm whales and can be found in lumps of all shapes and sizes. When it comes out of the whale, it's soft and white but after years in the ocean, the ambergris hardens and becomes a pale grey or sometimes black.

The reason it's sought after is because it is a useful ingredient in making perfumes. Ambergris is still used around the world to make the scent of a fragrance last longer, though has largely been replaced by a synthetic alternative.

So how much is it actually worth?

Well it's been valued at around $10,000 (£7,500) a pound but it's incredibly rare. In fact, even when you think you've hit the jackpot, it might not turn out to be ambergris. In 2008, two men in North Wales thought they'd discovered almost half a million pounds worth, but researchers at Bangor University found it to be paraffin wax.

Let's hope Alan's is the real deal.