Scorpion surprise as West Country newlyweds find venomous stowaway in honeymoon luggage

A West Country couple were stunned to find a potentially lethal scorpion in their laundry after returning from their honeymoon. Oliver Lane described the moment of surprise in their Bishopston home in Bristol, as they unpacked from their dream trip to Mexico.

Initially mistaking it for fluff on the floor, he was about to pick it up when he noticed its formidable pincers and threatening tail. He managed to trap the scorpion under a glass, but then faced the worry that there might be more hidden in their pile of holiday clothes.

Oliver and his wife Alex proceeded with extreme caution, checking each garment thoroughly. "It was quite a scene. Alex was standing on the bed armed with the vacuum cleaner, while I gingerly pulled out each item of clothing and shook it.

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"After the initial shock of realising that a scorpion had come back with us in our bag, we were thinking 'do they travel in groups? Is that a baby one and its mum is in the next item of clothing to come out of the bag? '" he said.

The relief only came once they were certain the scorpion was a solitary traveller and the washing machine was safely running, reports Bristol Live.

The couple tied the knot in Glastonbury before jetting off to Mexico for their honeymoon. They spent some time in Mexico City before heading south to Oaxaca.

"It was an amazing trip. One of the places we stayed in was this little hotel and it was surrounded by the jungle, so we think that's where the scorpion came from," Oliver shared.

"It was pretty small and we thought it would be harmless, but we got in touch with a friend who's a biologist on face time, and he took one look at it and said 'ah it's the small ones that are the ones you've got to look out for, they are the most deadly'," Oliver continued.

Eventually, they decided to humanely destroy the creature. "I was worried that we'd get in trouble for bringing an alien species back to this country and I didn't know what else to do - I wasn't exactly going to release it onto Horfield Common," he confessed.

Without a confirmed identification, it's hard to determine just how dangerous the scorpion that found its way to Bishopston was. There are approximately 280 different species of scorpions in Mexico, varying in colours and sizes.

Some are small black ones whose stings are no worse than bee stings, while others are also small black ones whose stings regularly cause fatalities in Mexico.

Despite the experience, the couple hasn't been deterred from returning to Mexico. However, Oliver mentioned they would be more cautious when packing their suitcase for the return journey.

"It was an amazing country, full of life, colour and friendliness - we'd definitely go back," he added.