Floating gold: Dog walker finds strange-smelling yellow rock on beach thought to be whale sick worth £100,000

Ken Wilman's dog Madge dug up the 3kg lump of 'ambergris' during a walk



Sperm whale vomit is used as a stabiliser in perfumes such as Chanel No. 5



The rare object has the odour of fungus on its own, but amplifies scent



It may look like a dirty yellow rock - but this 'stone' could be a piece of whale sick worth £100,000.

When Ken Wilman's dog Madge dug up the 'horrible' smelling object during a walk on Morecambe beach, he dragged her away.

But when he got home, the intrigued Lancashire walker looked up the mysterious find online.

He was amazed to learn that the misshapen rock is probably a piece of rare and valuable sperm whale vomit n icknamed 'floating gold'.

Mystery: Ken Wilman and his dog with the strange yellow rock they uncovered on Morecambe beach

Ambergris, or 'grey amber', is used in perfumes such as Chanel No. 5 to amplify the scent.

While the vomit is said to smell like old wood or fungus, it acts as a vital stabiliser when combined with other ingredients.

A French dealer has now offered Mr Wilman 50,000 euros if the 3kg lump turns out to be ambergris - but it could be worth twice as much.

Mr Wilman's boxer Madge found the lump while they were out walking near The Battery.

Mr Wilman, from Morecambe, said: 'It was like walking on the beach and finding a bag of £50,000 in cash, 'I didn't actually realise what it was at first, I couldn't understand why Madge was so interested in it.

'It smelled horrible.

'I left it, came back home and looked it up on the internet. When I saw how much it could be worth, I went back to the beach and grabbed it.'

Mr Wilman, who is unemployed after hurting his back in a motorbike accident, now plans to send a small sample of his discovery to France to have it checked.

Valuable: The rare and strange-smelling lump of vomit could be worth up to £100,000

'If he verifies it, it could be like winning the Lottery,' he said.

Chris Hill, curator at the Aquarium of the Lakes in Cumbria, said: 'It's quite a find.

'How much it's worth will depend on how fresh it is, but it's potentially $180,000.

'There are places in Europe that will buy it from you. They will age it, like a fine wine, and then test it for perfume.'

Ambergris is the intestinal slurry of sperm whales, which they eject into the ocean, usually when they have a stomach or throat problem.



It can then float around undiscovered for years in the water, where it hardens and develops its distinctive odour.

Waste not, want not: Ambergris is the intestinal slurry of sperm whales, which they eject into the sea when ill

Professor Callum Roberts, a marine biologist from the University of York, told Radio 4's Today programme that the 'sick' is, in fact, more like excrement.

'It is extraordinary valuable because it is the perfect stabiliser for perfume,' he said. 'All sorts of things have been mistaken for ambergris - dog poo, dead animals...



'You mix it with perfume. It doesn't have much smell of its own - it smells a bit like fungus or old wood - but it amplifies scents around it.

'It generally appears in small lumps, about fist or football size, but pieces of up to 200 kilos have been found.



'Not all sperm whales produce it,' he added.