Burns boasted a coat he wore in the house was gorilla fur

Officers took the coat following complaints Burns had boasted of it being gorilla, which could have been a of breach of endangered animals laws.

The matter has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether the coat contravenes importation rules.

Celebrities Rula Lenska, Traci Bingham and Maggot face eviction.

They were chosen by their fellow housemates to face the public vote to leave on Friday. Whoever leaves will be the third contestant to leave the Channel 4 series, which sees celebrities living in a camera-filled house.

Hertfordshire Constabulary said it treated wildlife crime as seriously as any other following complaints from the public about Burns bragging on TV of wearing gorilla fur.

Expert analysis

If it had been found to be gorilla fur then Burns could have been prosecuted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), which was passed in 1975.

Experts from the Natural History Museum in London were asked to analyse the coat after two officers collected it from Big Brother's base at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood.

The Colobus monkey originates from Africa

They found that it did not originate from gorilla but from black and white colobus monkeys, which are native to Africa.

The experts reported the coat was in a "relatively poor condition" and had been relined at some point.

Friday's live eviction pits actress Lenska against Goldie Lookin' Chain member Maggot and former Baywatch star Traci Bingham.