First ever 'lost' Lego shark to be auctioned

Richard West was told the Lego shark he found was the first recovered from the lost shipping container

A Lego shark caught by a fisherman off the South West coast years after being swept off a ship is to be auctioned for charity.

Richard West landed the first-ever reported shark from the 51,800 Lego sharks in one of 62 containers holding 4.75 million pieces swept off the Tokio Express cargo ship near Land's End in 1997.

The plastic toy, which Mr West caught in his fishing nets 20 miles (32km) south of Penzance in August 2024, is set to be sold by Plymouth-based auctioneer Anthony Eldred on 30 October.

Mr West said: "The best thing about this is even if it makes £10 I'll be happy because I can tell my skipper that, gram for gram, it's the most expensive fish we've ever caught."

Sixty-two containers were swept overboard from the Tokio Express cargo ship near Land's End in 1997

After landing his catch, Mr West was told by the Lego Lost At Sea project - which documents finds from the Tokio Express incident - it was the first time a shark had been brought back to shore.

Mr West said he would be at sea when the auction took place but hoped his find would raise a significant amount of money for his chosen charities - Cancer Research UK and Fishermen's Mission.

"I lost one of my best friends to cancer and another friend is battling it," he said.

"I chose Cancer Research UK because everyone is affected by cancer and the Fishermen's Mission is an amazing lifeline."

Richard West said he will split money raised by the sale between Fishermen's Mission and Cancer Research UK

Mr Eldred said it was "almost an impossible task" to put a guide price on the unique Lego model, but he thought between £50 and £100 would be likely.

He said: "This certainly is unique.

"A keen collector may well be interested and if more than one person becomes excited, the shark may well go for more than that."