Watch: Doncaster market trader rescues 'one in a million' rare bright blue lobster

Martyn Pippard, owner of The Gentleman Fishmonger in Doncaster’s Fish Market, revealed the stunning catch after returning from Grimsby in his van stacked with fresh fish.

But dubbing the crustacean Letitia, he has spared the colourful creature from cooking – and it will instead be returned to the North Sea.

Mr Pippard shared a video of his discovery on Facebook and said: “What about this – this is one in a million.”

Carefully unwrapping the lobster from a box of others inside a wrapping of newspapers and with its claws already taped, he said: “She’s beautiful – a pure blue lobster. One in a million.”

Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish-green or greenish-brown, to blend in with the ocean floor, but they can be found in many colours – and only turn bright red or pink when cooked.

Unusually coloured lobsters account for only a few of the millions caught every year, and due to their rarity, they usually are not eaten, instead being released back into the wild or donated to aquariums.

Often, in cases of atypical coloring, there is a genetic factor, such as albinism or hermaphroditism.

Mr Pippard appealed to The Deep in Hull as well as Natureland in Skegness to take Letitia, but there were fears that she may be eaten by other animals and so the decision was taken to return her to the sea off Grimsby.