Deadly African scorpion is found by horrified Brit woman after it ‘crawled past her feet' while she watched TV
A WOMAN has been left terrified after returning home from holiday and discovering a "deadly" scorpion in her home.
It is believed the scorpion hitched a ride back in her luggage when she returned from a holiday in Africa.
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The deadly scorpion was discovered in a Swindon home earlier this month.
It was reportedly spotted by the homeowner as she sat watching TV with the scorpion crawling across her carpet right under her nose.
The terrified homeowner bravely trapped it under a wine glass before transferring it into a jar where it was safely kept until help arrived.
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was called and recommended the woman speak to a specialist.
Jonathan Cleverly who provides educational workshops for schools featuring insects, reptiles and invertebrates was eventually scrambled to deal with the African scorpion.
Jonathan took the creature away after identifying it as a member of the Buthidae family which several of the most deadly scorpion species in the world are also a part of.
After getting the deadly creature home Jonathan made sure to keep it locked up safely before finding it a new home.
Jonathan owns several scorpions himself and was well prepared with the proper equipment to transport the deadly animal.
He dismissed the idea that the animal was an escaped pet, believing it snuck into the UK in the woman's luggage.
The dangerous creatures are commonly found in Africa from where the homeowner had recently returned.
The scorpion has since been taken to live with an expert who has a DWA (Dangerous Wild Animals) licence.
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It was estimated to be around 4cm long with Jonathan calling it the "most dangerous animal" he ever had.
Speaking to the BBC Jonathan said: "She'd [the homeowner] done a brilliant job of moving it from a wine glass into a jam jar with a secure lid so it couldn't move and escape.
"She put in some lettuce for a bit of moisture. She looked after it brilliantly well.
"The scorpion, I would like to say, is absolutely gorgeous - even if it is potentially harmful to humans, it's a very rare thing for these sorts of scorpion to make their way into the UK."
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The six legged creature boasts a pair of fearsome looking claws and a large, venomous stinger on its tail.
Coming in at just 4cm the scorpion is small but deadly with the species occasionally causing human fatalities.
When fully grown the scorpion can reach a terrifying 12cm, more than twice the size of the one found in Swindon.
What are the most poisonous animals in the world?
Here are seven of the most deadly creatures...
The box jellyfish is widely regarded to be the most posionous animal in the world and contians a toxin that can cause heart attacks
Cobras, typically found in the jungles of India and China, can spit a venom which can result in death in a very short space of time and just 7ml of their venom is enough to kill 20 humans
The marbled cone snail is a sea creature that can release venom so toxic it can result in vision loss, respiratory failure, muscle paralysis and eventually death and, to make things worse, there is no anti-venom available
Posion dart frogs are small and brightly coloured but have glands containing a toxin that blocks nerve signals to muscles, causing paralysis and death
Puffer fish are considered to be a dangerous delicacy because some of their anatomy contains a hazardous toxin which, if ingested in a large quantity, can cause convulsions, paralysis, cardiac arrhythmia, and ultimately death
The Brazillian wandering spider, also known as the 'banana spider', has venom that is so high in serotonin it can paralyse and kill
Death stalker scorpions have a fitting name as enough venom from one can cause a lot of pain and respiratory failure
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