A woman has been left stunned after discovering a live wriggling lizard in a pack of strawberries.
Nikata Moran snapped up a punnet of strawberries from Lidl and took them home in Fallowfield in South Manchester, oblivious to the fact strawberries were not all she was carrying.
As she unpacked her shopping Nikata found that there was a stowaway in the fruit, a tiny one-inch-long baby gecko.
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She said that the tiny lizard was still very active and moving quickly despite having been in the fridge for around two hours before she spotted it.
She quickly contacted the RSPCA, and inspector Rachel Henderson was sent to collect the gecko.
The little lizard had travelled some 3,000 miles from Egypt with the strawberries before ending up in Nikata's kitchen.
Nikata said: "I got the strawberries out of the fridge and saw something move out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a spider or something.
"When I looked again, I saw this tiny gecko. I couldn't believe it.
"It seemed very alert, so I managed to get it onto a spoon and pop it into a plastic container, where it moved very, very fast."
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In an RSPCA press release, Rachel said: "When I was told I would be collecting a stowaway gecko I must admit I was expecting to be greeted with something slightly larger! When I opened the box I had to look twice to see where the lizard was.
"This little one was absolutely minute and I have no idea how something so tiny survived for such a long time in transit in a sealed up container."
The gecko was then taken to the Ashleigh Veterinary Center where it was found to be in good health aside from a missing tail which is expected to grow back.
"This little one has settled in well and will be ready to be rehomed once he has passed his quarantine period," a Reptilia spokesperson told the RSPCA.
Despite only being very tiny the gecko will have to be quarantined before going to a long term home.
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