A 35-year-old fisherman from Plymouth, Richard West, has made a unique find in his nets - the first-ever reported Lego shark from a cargo lost at sea 27 years ago.

West stumbled upon the sea-worn grey Lego shark 20 miles south of Penzance while on board the fishing trawler, Defiant FY848.

The discovery was confirmed by Tracey Williams, founder of the project Lego Lost at Sea, which tracks items from the Tokio Express cargo ship spill that occurred on 13 February 1997.

A freak wave in a severe gale swept 62 shipping containers into the sea off Land's End, including one holding over 4 million pieces of Lego.

Williams verified this piece as the first of 51,800 lost Lego sharks reported.

The recovered Lego sharks were part of several 1997 sets like Shark Cage Cove, Shark Attack, and Deep Sea Bounty.

West shared his excitement, describing the find as 'priceless treasure.' The Lego Lost at Sea project encourages others to report similar finds, contributing to a larger scientific study on the spill's impact.

Lego pieces from the spill have surfaced in locations such as Cornwall, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Wales, and Ireland.