A conservation charity is warning families and dog walkers to be on their guard after a 30 kilo lump of solidified palm oil was washed up on Goodwick beach.

The pungent waxy object was found by a local family on the beach last Thursday afternoon, March 12.

"It was a big thing that looked like a huge chicken pooh," said the mum. "The children were fascinated by it. It wasn't like anything we've seen before.

"It caused quite a lot of excitement with some people thinking it might be ambergris."

The family alerted Cliff Benson from Sea Trust, who works out of the nearby Ocean Lab. When Cliff broke off a chunk, the lump gave off an unpleasant, chemical odour.

Cliff then tried to contact Pembrokeshire County Council, but was unable to, so went directly to Natural Resources Wales.

The palm oil was still on the beach on Friday morning and Cliff removed it to avoid danger to dogs and children.

"By this time we had done some research and knew it was palm oil," he said. "It is very dangerous to dogs, they go for it because it is fatty but it dehydrates them and leads to organ failure."

Workers from Natural Resources Wales confirmed it was palm oil when they arrived later. It was eventually taken away by Pembrokeshire County Council.

"Palm oil is such an ecological disaster," said Cliff. "They are slashing and burning the rainforest in Burma and orangutans are getting killed and orphaned.

"It seems a long way from Borneo to West Wales but just goes to show that there is only one world and all things are connected."

Cliff said that anybody who found anything similar should try to report it to Natural Resources Wales or Pembrokeshire County Council.