7:15AM, Tue May 8, 2012

What A Stink: Smelly Whale Skull To Go On Display At Discovery Museum In Newcastle

By Jenny Wotherspoon Location: Newcastle

Smellyvision: Enormous whale skull to go on display in Newcastle

The skull, which once belonged to a 40-tonne whale, is covered in moss and oil which is creating an unpleasant smell.

Staff at the museum, who say it is the biggest whale skull they have seen, are keen to clean it up and put it on display.

The skull was handed over to the Discovery Museum after it was found by a fisherman near Hartlepool.

Kevin Fletcher was on his boat three miles off the coast of the city when he came across the enormous structure.

Believing it to be a huge piece of rubbish, he hauled in his nets to discover it was actually a monster-sized bone.

The 6ft skull is believed to have belonged to a sperm whale - a mammal which is not commonly found in the North Sea.

Staff at the museum hope to put it on display outdoors where the smell will not be a problem for visitors.

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