Mongolian Death Worm

It spits corrosive yellow saliva and can generate electrical blasts powerful enough to kill a camel.

But the Mongolian Death Worm - a comic book-style beast documented in local texts and folklore - may have met its match.

A team of British scientists has set out to capture the elusive monster - and they plan to wrestle it to the ground with their bare hands.

The beast, which can grow up to 1.5m (5ft), has been written about by Russian scientists and there have been numerous sightings, although no one has ever captured or photographed it.

But, even though the desert beast has terrified Mongolians for centuries, the team of four Britons has decided the best way to capture it is to roll up their sleeves and grab it. The expedition's leader, cryptozoologist Richard Freeman, thinks the creature's deathly powers are a myth and he is not afraid to tackle it.

'The only thing I'm nervous about is flight delays,' he said.

The group, from the Exeter-based Centre for Fortean Zoology - the world's only full-time scientific organisation dedicated to the study of mystery animals - will spend a month searching the Gobi desert.

Rumours about the beast include a geologist poking the sand before dropping dead - apparently having been electrocuted.

One man reportedly survived a bite by putting his arm into a bowl of yak's milk, turning the liquid blue.

Known locally as Allghoi khorkhoi - or 'intestine worm' due to its resemblance to a length of stomach - the red creature comes out at rainfall. It is said to surface for only a couple of months, at this time of year.

The team hopes to flush out the beast by creating small floods to swamp its burrows. Mr Freeman said he was confident the beast existed and they would find it.

However, the team does not have a great record of success. Its former expeditions for mysterious beasts - shown in the box on the right - have all drawn a blank.

The team's progress can be monitored on www.deathworm.co.uk

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