A fisherman is hoping to become an overnight millionaire after finding what would be the world's largest-ever haul of rare whale vomit.

Naris Suwannasang, 60, was walking by the sea when he noticed several pale lumps which looked like rocks washed up on a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand last Monday (November 23).

He called his cousins to help him take the items home, where they started prodding and poking them.

Astonishingly, the large rocks appeared to resemble ambergris, a rare secretion from whales which is used as an expensive ingredient in perfume production.

The family tested the surface by burning it with a lighter, causing it to melt instantly.

Naris said the blobs weighed 220 lbs - or 100kg - potentially making it one of the biggest ever finds of whale vomit.

He even claims to have been contacted by a businessman who is willing to pay 960,000THB (23,740GBP) per kilogram if the ambergris is high quality.

That would land Naris a cool 96,000,000 Thai baht - around 2.4 million GBP. Even a fraction of the sum would obliterate his meagre earnings from fishing of around 500GBP a month.

He said: ''The businessman told me that he will come to check the quality of the ambergris later and the price shocked me.

''I could receive around 960,000THB (23,740GBP) per kilogram if the ambergris I found is the best grade.''

Naris is now waiting for specialists to confirm that the material found is ambergris.

He said: ''I want to know more about this ambergris and want the specialist to inspect them. I also plan to go to the police and have them record my discovery as I feared that they might be stolen from my house.''

In April 2016, a 1.57 kilogram ambergris ball found in Lancashire sold for GBP50,000 while in November of the same year, three Omani fishermen found 80 kilograms of ambergris and sold it for USD3 million.

Ambergris is produced by sperm whales when their bile ducts in the gastrointestinal tract make secretions to ease the passage of large or sharp objects. The whale then vomits the mucilage which solidifies and has a foul smell as it floats across the ocean surface - sometimes for several years.

Despite the unappealing smell and appearance, when the mucilage dries out the chunk takes on a beautifully sweet scent and long-lasting aroma, which makes it a sought-after ingredient in the perfume fragrance industry.