A man from Sunderland found an exotic suprise in his suitcase when he began unpacking after returning from a holiday.
The traveller had just got back to Houghton-le-Spring at the beginning of June only to open his suitcase and a gecko to jump out.
As surprised as he was, the man is not the only British holidaymaker to bring a bit more than a souvenir back with them from a foreign getaway.
Two stowaway lizards nicknamed Kevin and Perry made an incredible 4,300 mile journey from Florida to Lincolnshire in a suitcase.
The anole lizards, which are harmless tree-dwelling reptiles native to America, were found on Monday after vet Mark Goodlad returned to his home in Kirton in Lindsey - following a family holiday to Disneyland, Orlando.
In February 2022, a traveller from North London who had recently returned from South Africa found a rock gecko in her luggage.
The little creature was transported to the RSPCA Brighton Reptile Centre for rehoming.
Another reptile discovery this year unfortunately had a sadder ending.
A wall lizard discovered in the suitcase of a traveller from Andover, Hampshire after returning from a trip to Italy on 20 June. Sadly, the little reptile didn’t survive.
The RSPCA is urging holiday makers to check their luggage carefully before flying back to the UK in a bid to reduce the number of exotic stowaways which need rescuing.
RSPCA Scientific Officer Evie Button said: “This is a timely reminder to anyone who is jetting off for their summer holidays to thoroughly check their luggage when packing to return home.
"Once packed, keep your bags zipped up. Don’t leave your bags open on the floor overnight as this also provides an opportunity for animals to hide away.
"These little stowaways can easily be concealed amongst your clothes in a suitcase and once they’ve arrived in the UK, sadly, they cannot be returned to their country of origin.
“As highlighted in our Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, the RSPCA receives around 90,000 calls to its emergency line every month but in the summer calls rise to 134,000 a month and our officers are flat out trying to prioritise animals affected by cruelty and neglect.
"So a few extra minutes checking your suitcase could help save our officers’ time.”
As the holiday season approaches, the animal charity reveals that last year, it received 70 reports of accidental ‘stowaways’ in the luggage of people who had just come back from a holiday abroad.
Incidents included a ‘lingerie-loving’ lizard which hitched a ride in a bra in a suitcase, travelling 4,000 miles from Barbados back to Rotherham last September (2021).
Common stowaways reported to the RSPCA include reptiles , usually geckos and other small lizards, but occasionally snakes), and amphibians.
Stowaways from abroad, such as geckos, may have specific needs including controlled temperature, lighting and humidity.
They would be very unlikely to survive UK temperatures and it would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release them, or to allow them to escape into the wild.
They have to be rehomed to specialist keepers, zoos or wildlife parks who have the necessary knowledge and facilities to care for them properly.
Evie added: “We would always advise people to treat any unidentified animal with caution until identified accurately and not to try to handle an animal that has been discovered as accidentally imported.
“We are incredibly busy over the summer months so if anyone does find a stowaway as they are unpacking it would really help us if they contacted their nearest zoo or exotic pet shop in the first instance - so our frontline officers can prioritise rescuing animals from cruelty and neglect.”
There may be times when the RSPCA does not have the necessary resources or specialist skills to help stowaways, particularly invertebrates such as spiders.
In these cases we would advise people to instead contact a local specialist, for example a pet shop or local zoo.
To help support the RSPCA, visit www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty
