JOINER Mark Gregory has grabbed a golden opportunity to jet off to the other side of the world in pursuit of his beloved hobby.

Mark, aged 32, leaves for New Zealand next month -- to search for gold!

And he hopes his pan-tastic journey could lead to the moment he's been dreaming of for years -- finding that one big nugget.

Originally from Adlington, Mark, who now lives in Chorley, began panning for gold in Scottish rivers some five years ago.

"Ever since I was little I can remember I have been interested in gold," he said.

"I started going to Scotland on holiday and found people panning for gold there.

"I didn't even know there was gold in Scotland at that time."

He explained: "You have to have some knowledge of which rivers the gold is going to be in and also which particular part of the river to look at.

"Scottish gold is about 22 carat. It is really good stuff. In fact I would say that it is some of the best you can get in the world." Mark, who runs Greg's Garden Sheds, reckons he has discovered about £1,000 worth of gold in five years, with buyers in Scotland often offering between £20-£25 a gramme.

He keeps it in small containers and refuses to turn it into jewellery.

Panners keep their locations a closely guarded secret and Mark said he tried to aim for the more remote parts of a river in his search.

"Some people have just hit the right spot.

"Many of the big nuggets have been found purely by accident and luck more than anything else.

"You can pan for hours and hours and only find one little speck.

"But it's a funny feeling when you find a little piece, because that's the point when you know there's something there.

"Then again, you can dig for hours in a river and there might be nothing, yet ten feet away there might be lots of it and you don't know."

Mark flies out to Auckland for a month on November 5 and then heads for South Island.

"I will be hitch hiking. You see more of the scenery."

And is there any gold in Lancashire?

"No, but there's gold found in most other counties. Wales is a good gold panning place too.

Mark, who competes in the annual British Gold Panning Championships in Scotland, urged anyone interested in following in his golden footsteps to give panning a try.

Though not a member of the British Gold Panning Association himself, he said the organisation could be a good source of help and information for someone wanting to get started.

"Everyone wants to have a go," he added. "Men women and children go out panning.

"I'm planning to keep on doing it as long as I can. There's just something in me that make me want to go and do it. PAN man: Golden guy Mark Gregory.