A Colchester woman had the shock of her life when she unpacked a bag of bananas - and out popped a lizard.

Sharon Bell, 43, shrieked in horror as the lizard leapt on to her hand. "I screamed so loudly, I really freaked out," the mother of two said. "The kids thought I'd had a mild heart attack. I threw my hand up and he ran back into the bag. I then had to get a neighbour to come and get him."

The lizard was alive and well despite its long journey, believed to be from Costa Rica to Tesco in Colchester. Mrs Bell's 14-year-old daughter Ione and son Samuel, ten, begged her to keep the lizard - which they nicknamed Ned - but she thought it would be cruel.

She added: "I rang Tesco headquarters and they said they would destroy him for me but I couldn't have him killed. I'm not that cruel. I tried the zoo but because he might be foreign, they couldn't take him."

An RSPCA officer who collected Ned could not identify the species but said he was a baby and not from Britain. A Tesco spokesman apologised and said: "Despite all the expertise, checks and will in the world, it is not always possible to completely legislate for the natural world."

Hang on,  go back a bit... "I tried the zoo but because he might be foreign, they couldn't take him"... So Colchester Zoo only takes British animals? I think we have a winner in the 'World's Most Boring Zoo' category.


Meanwhile, at Asda things were even worse...