A LARGE chunk of palm oil was was discovered washed up on Poole's award-winning Sandbanks beach.

Yesterday, a Poole Coastguard spokesman tweeted: "Warning, large chunk of palm oil washed-up on Sandbanks beach.

"Moved further up the beach for safety and coastguard tape wrapped around it.

"If you have a dog and are walking in the area please stay clear as it can be harmful to animals."

The oil 'fatberg' is thought to have come from a ship.

In the past, chunks of palm oil have washed up on a number of UK beaches.

One theory is the recent rough seas may have dislodged the palm oil from a ship's cargo.

Another possibility is that a rogue tanker may have discharged the remnants of its oil cargo at sea.

While not dangerous to humans, the palm oil is toxic and potentially dangerous - and can prove fatal to dogs if they ingest it.

Last month Bournemouth and Poole Greenpeace gathered near Bournemouth Pier to campaign about the use of palm oil, by companies such as Mondelez who use the product in their popular Oreo cookies.

In particular, activists wanted to draw attention to rainforest destruction, which they believe is linked to the production of some palm oil.

Greenpeace volunteer Chris Pane said: "In Bournemouth and the rest of the conurbation we all love Oreos but rainforest destruction for the palm oil used to make them leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

"That is why here in Bournemouth we are calling on Oreo to drop dirty palm oil."

Palm oil is a vegetable oil found in lots of High Street products.

Greenpeace agrees it can be produced without destroying rainforests.

The chunk of palm oil was reported at Sandbanks beach on Thursday (Dec 13) evening.

Poole Coastguard added: "If you see anymore along our coast then call the coastguard on 999 and report your findings."