A Thai undertaker received a windfall when he sold a stash of gold teeth he had collected from cremated bodies.

The funeral home worker, Somboon, cashed in the scrap dental implants at a jewellery store in Saraburi in central Thailand, on April 25.

He said he had accumulated the bizarre treasures throughout his career, picking the glimmering gold nuggets out from the ashes and bones of the dead.

Somboon claimed the precious metal fragments were 'legally obtained with the full knowledge and consent of the families', many of whom were of mixed Thai and Chinese descent.

To verify that the gold was genuine, he took the teeth to be appraised at the store.

Footage shows shop owner Namo using an X-ray machine to inspect each nugget. He confirmed all were genuine 22ct gold, though some had metal impurities mixed in.

The gold teeth were then melted down and shaped into a small bar weighing 21.13 grammes. The ingot would sell for at least 59,000 baht (1,334 GBP), Namo said.

However, the price could surge further as the gold price continues to rise.

The undertaker was delighted upon hearing the price.

He said: 'I have been collecting these teeth throughout the years. I handle at least two bodies a day, but it is rare to find any with gold teeth.

'I am pleasantly surprised. At first, I thought I would only get 10,000 to 20,000 baht. I didn't think I would get any more than that. I will use the extra money to pay tribute to the dead.'

Gold demand has soared in recent years fueled by inflation, political instability and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The price has hit record highs with central governments - notably China and Russia - buying up large quantities of the precious metal as a hedge against the dollar and the power of the West.

Controversial banker JP Morgan famously said: 'Gold is money, everything else is credit.'

However, some investors remain cynical of the benefits of gold, which was dubbed the 'barbarous relic' by economist John Maynard Keynes, who believed it had limited uses.

Stock market doyen Warren Buffet is similarly dismissive of gold, which he does not hold in his investments.

He said: 'Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it.'

(1 GBP = 44.21 THB)