A man was staggered to find a fearsome scorpion inside his suitcase after returning home from a trip to Cuba.
David Judd spotted the creature scurrying around at the bottom of his case as he unpacked his clothes at his home.
The tourist, who is a voice actor, immediately slammed the case shut, before carefully managing to catch the scorpion with a pair of litter-picking-style tongs and putting it into a plastic tub.
"It's very bizarre and we have no idea how he has got inside our luggage. I have been stung twice by a bee in my life before - and that was enough," David, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said.
He named the creature Brian, and believes he is Cuban Bark Scorpion, Manchester Evening News reports.
A Cuban Bark Scorpion is capable of inflicting a painful, venomous sting, but not said to be as potent as some of its killer arachnid relatives.
It crept into the luggage before David and wife Amanda, 48, flew to Manchester Airport after their two-week break near Havana.
"I don't think he's deadly," David continued.
"I have been looking them up online and, thankfully, the word 'fatal' hasn't yet cropped up, although I have seen the words 'very poisonous'.
"I was taking everything out manually with my hands but when I reached the bottom of the case, I saw this brown thing out of the corner of my eye. It was making a rustling sound and I thought 'that's not normal'.
"The suitcase has a lining around the inside and it scurried underneath the clothes.
"At first I thought it was a big fly until I picked the next garment up and saw this thing coming towards me. When it expands with its pincers out and tail up it looks even bigger than it actually is.
"This one apparently does have a sting. I finally managed to catch him and put it inside the tub with the lid not on fully so it has plenty of air to breathe and put it in the kitchen."
David posted details of his creepy holiday souvenir on the Facebook page of the hotel at which he stayed in Cuba, sparking interesting feedback.
The actor said he even rang the police for advice via the 101 number, but was told to contact a pet shop. The RSCPA, he added, didn't respond to his calls.
David added: "I have managed to get Brian a new home."
"I contacted a tropical pet shop in Wakefield and asked if they wanted to take it in and they did.
"He's now living at Aquatica tropical pet shop in Wakefield. They put him in a container with soil and such like then gave him a couple of crickets which he devoured immediately.
"So it's a happy ending for our Cuban friend, even though he's now in a different country."
