A DAD of two from Hucclecote thought he'd struck gold when he dug up 12 truffles from his garden.

But despite the bounty totalling an impressive £75, the black truffles are not quite as valuable as their white counterparts.

"If they were white ones they would be worth serious money, in the thousands," said Mark Palmer, 48, an independent financial adviser, who found the truffles while doing some gardening on Saturday.

"They were just below the surface and at first I thought they were pieces of tarmac as we used to have a tarmac drive. I sliced one in half with a spade and then Googled it and realised they were truffles.

"I thought I'd hit a gold mine at first, but they're not the really expensive ones. Still, I think they're worth around £75 which isn't bad at all."

Mark lives in his Hucclecote Road Home with his wife Deborah, 49, and their two children Christopher, 22, and Jonathan, 18.

Production of black truffles, which grow exclusively with oak, is almost entirely from Europe, with France accounting for 45 per cent, Spain 35 per cent, Italy 20 per cent, and small amounts coming from Slovenia and Croatia.

As of December 2009, black truffles were sold between £850 per kilo in a farmer's market and £2,992 per kilo in a retail outlet.

"I'm going to keep them for myself and try a bit of cooking with them," added Mark.

"I have called a couple of restaurants to see if they want to buy them but they turned me down.

"They smell quite nice though, kind of nutty."