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A couple are celebrating after a large, smelly 'rock' they picked up on the beach turned out to be a chunk of whale vomit - potentially worth a whopping £50,000.

Gary and Angela Williams, from Overton, Lancashire, were strolling along Middleton Sands beach near Morecambe Bay when they smelled rotting fish.

After following the stench, they spotted an bizarre-looking 'rock' that resembled a piece of ambergris - or 'whale vomit' - which is used in perfume -making.

The couple had previously read about the highly-prized substance in a newspaper, so they wrapped the enormous lump in a scarf and took it home.

(Image: SWNS)

Gary, 48, later put the mound on his fishing scales and found it weighed 1.57kg - just more than half the size of a lump discovered near Morecambe several years ago.

The previous piece of 'whale vomit' was valued at a staggering £120,000 in 2013.

Read more:6 other hidden treasures you can find beachcombing

Gary and Angela, a 49 year-old nurse, are now in negotiations with potential buyers over the recently-found lump, which is slightly smaller than a rugby ball.

Dubbed 'floating gold' due to its rareness and high value to perfume makers, ambergris is hardened intestinal slurry from a sperm whale.

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The substance takes years to form and is thought to protect the animal from the hard and sharp objects it eats.

It can float in the ocean for years before washing ashore.

(Image: SWNS)

Long-term exposure to the sun and salt water transform it into a smooth, grey lump of compact rock.

Gary, an engineer, described his and his wife's find as 'a bit of a shock'.

"It was down a section of the beach where no-one really walks," he said.

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"It smells too bad though. It's a very distinctive smell, like a cross between squid and farmyard manure.

"It feels like a rock hard rubber ball. Its texture is like wax, like a candle.

"When you touch it you get wax sticking to your fingers."

He added: "If it is worth a lot of money, it will go a long way towards buying us a static caravan. It would be a dream come true."

(Image: Getty)

Gary and Angela often scour the beach for unusual items when they go for walks.

They spotted the 1.57kg ambergris on Sunday and have since safely stored it while they consult experts - one in France and another in New Zealand.

The 2.7kg lump found washed up in Morecambe in 2013 was valued by experts at up to £120,000.

Meanwhile, a 1.1 kg piece found on a beach in Anglesey, Wales, was bought for £11,000 at an auction in Macclesfield, Cheshire last September.

Related video - Whale explodes during post-mortem examination