A man has received a police caution for trying to sell a pair of elephant’s feet on the internet, in the first crime of its kind in Waltham Forest.

Police in Waltham Forest seized the huge, dried feet after they were alerted to the post on auction site Ebay.

When questioned the 47-year-old, who has not been named, said he bought the feet at an antiques fair in November last year.

He was cautioned for an offence contrary to the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 on March 13.

The feet are now with the Wildlife Crime Unit and will be used as part of the unit's educational learning program.

Superintendent Phil Langworthy, of Waltham Forest police, said: "This is the first crime of this type for the borough.

“I hope this case will remind taxidermy collectors to ensure that they are complying with the law when buying unusual items of this kind."

Elephant’s feet can be sold for hundreds of pounds and are often kept as ornaments or furniture.

However, because Elephants are a classified as an endangered species and it is an offence to sell their body parts.

Trading in these animals, or animal parts, is strictly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

This is an international agreement between governments aiming to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.