Historic whalebones removed from eBay then put up for sale by council

The bones, which were acquired in 1963 by Whitby Rural District Council as a gift from a Norwegian Shipping Company, were being stored at Wilf Noble, a building firm in the town.

The company agreed to look after the weathered bones after they were taken down in the late 1990s, when an appeal to find new custodians failed to attract any interest following the closure of Whitby Archives, where they were originally on display. A spokeswoman for Scarborough Council, which launched the search last February, said she believed the firm had eventually been given permission to dispose of the bones when no one came forward. But she said eBay had forced the company to remove the listing after it was accused of flouting regulations linked to the sale of animal matter and endangered species.

Now, Scarborough Council has relaunched the search for new owners. In 2002, after a worldwide appeal, the council acquired a new set of jaw bones from one of its twin towns – Barrow in Alaska - for a replacement 19ft arch on the West Cliff.