A POULTRY farmer was left shell-shocked after he found a huge egg - with another inside.

Glynn Johnston collects about 700 eggs each day from his hens on his farm near Stamfordham, Northumberland.

"The egg was enormous," he said. "I had never seen anything so big.

"Our average large egg weighs between 63 and 73 grams - this one weighed 155 grams.

"It was twice the size of a large egg. It was much more like the size of a big goose egg."

Mr Johnston, 28, contacted the regional egg inspector to see if the egg was a record-breaker and an expert arrived to check it.

He said: "We drained out two yolks and then discovered a whole egg - it was amazing."

Although the find is rare - there have been other incidents of eggs being found inside eggs.

According to the British Egg Information Service, an egg forms in the shell gland of a hen, but for some unknown reason it is not laid.

Another egg then forms over the existing one, creating a shell within a shell.

Mr Johnston plans to put the egg on show at his farm.