A 23 million-year-old dinosaur poo bought in Halifax is set for TV auction

Philip Serrell snapped up the fossilised faeces at Al’s Emporium in The Piece Hall, Halifax, during a buying expedition through the antiques shops of Yorkshire.

His find was sent on to go under the hammer at the John Taylors saleroom in Louth.

Exactly what happened when the three pieces of poo . . . thought to be that of a turtle-like dinosaur of the early Miocene Epoch . . . went under the hammer will be revealed when the Road Trip episode is screened tomorrow (Thursday January 17.)

Auctioneer James Laverack said: “It has caused great amusement and there have, of course, been endless jokes about ‘Philip going potty’ and his chances of winning the competition ‘going down the pan’ and all the rest.”

“Strange as it may seem, there are collectors of such things . . . indeed one expert has been quoted as saying that no dinosaur fossil collection is complete without an example . . . but ahead of the auction I was just slightly concerned that we might not have many of them in Lincolnshire. Would we get any bids?”

James said: “The really funny thing is that after 23 million years this stuff is now just rock but most of those brave folk who did examine it during the auction viewing sessions still handled it very gingerly.

"There were even people who actually sniffed to see if it still had a smell!”

“Just for the record, it didn’t!” James added: “This was the Antique Road Trip’s first visit to the Old Wool Mart and I have to say that it was a real pleasure to have them with us.

"Philip and Natasha were brilliant, mixing and chatting with the crowd. It really was a memorable day.”

The edition of the Antiques Road Trip featuring the dinosaur poo will be broadcast on BBC 1 on Thursday January 17 th at 4.30pm