Deadly monster snails were discovered crawling along a busy London street, it is reported.
The two massive giant African land snails, which can be potentially deadly to humans, were said to have measured eight inches each and were dumped at a bus stop in a lettuce-filed cardboard box.
A discovery of snails of the same species in America led to an entire county in Florida being put into lockdown.
The giant snails had escaped their box and were freely roaming the pavement when 20-year-old Jamie-Lee McEvoy discovered them near London Bridge train station.
At first he thought he was hallucinating they were so large.
The Sun reports he said: “They were the size of my arms.
“I thought I was seeing things. Everyone was wondering where they’d come from. But no one knew what to do or wanted to touch them.”
The snails feed almost constantly and are among the world’s most damaging invasive species.
The molluscs also pose a serious and possibly deadly risk to humans as they harbour rat lungworm which can cause meningitis.
The duo at London Bridge were collected by wildlife volunteer Beth Crivelli who took them back to her home in a damp towel.
She said they would have died in the current heat and that “they’re living with me in a proper sealed box until I can find someone to adopt them.”
The snails are so dangerous not just because of the illnesses they carry, but their ravenous appetite can destroy local ecosystems and each snail can lay a thousand eggs at a time.
This came as earlier this month, the discovery of giant African land snails triggered an entire county in Florida, USA, to be locked down.
However, less than two weeks after that the reappearance of the species forced officials in the area to re-enact the quarantine order
Now, more than 1,000 snails have been captured as Florida’s department of agriculture desperately fights to keep the invasive species under control.
Things have gotten so bad a specialist helpline to the agriculture department has been set up to help them continue their hunt.
If any Brits are unfortunate enough to run into one they are advised to not touch it and wear protective gear if they absolutely must.
This isn’t the first time Florida officials have tussled with this specific species of snail and infestations in the state can be traced back to the 1960s to escaped house pets and illegal importations by religious groups.
