David Judd found the scorpion in his suitcase after flying back from Cuba (Picture: SWNS)
A holidaymaker with a fear of insects captured a scorpion he found crawling inside his suitcase – and named it Brian.
David Judd, 55, had been unpacking his clothes just hours after arriving home from Cuba when he suddenly spotted the venomous arachnid.
The actor, who has appeared in Emmerdale, managed to use a litter picker to grab its tail before skillfully placing it in a Tupperware box.
He’s since been able to identify the animal, which he has called Brian, as a Cuban Bark Scorpion – capable of a very painful, but non-deadly, sting with its back tail.
David has now brought it to a local reptile store where it will live out its life eating crickets.
He said: ‘When I saw it was a scorpion, it was a very scary moment for me.
‘I’m a 6ft 1in ex-rugby player, and I let out a very loud screech. In my house, my wife deals with wasps, spiders and moths. I absolutely hate anything like that.
‘I grabbed its tail, picked it up and put it in the box, closing it loosely as it’s airtight.
David named the venomous critter Brian (Picture: Amanda Judd / SWNS)
‘I felt a huge feeling of pride at being able to do such a thing. I run a mile from wasps and bees, and here I am getting hold of a scorpion.’
David said they’d arrived at Manchester Airport from their holiday near Havana at 10am on Friday, before driving back home to Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
But as he was unpacking his suitcase, he saw something scuttling around before realising to his shock it was a scorpion.
He said: ‘I saw something moving. I’m thinking “That wasn’t a belt buckle or anything that should be in there”.
‘There were a lot of fireflies in the trees, and they were quite a size, so I thought it was one of those until I saw it move across the suitcase.
Brian now lives at a reptile store where he feasts on crickets all day (Picture: David Judd / SWNS)
‘I just legged it. I jumped straight out of the room, straight into the bedroom where my wife was.
‘I was trying to tell her what I’d seen. She was still very tired and it was clear that she wasn’t going to get out of bed and help me with that situation.’
Once David managed to scoop the scorpion into the Tupperware box, he phoned the police on their 101 number and asked for their advice.
And with the help of the call handler, he settled on ringing a local reptile store, Aquatica, who agreed to take on the scorpion.
David said he ‘felt a huge feeling of pride’ after catching Brian (Picture: Amanda Judd / SWNS)
David said he was pleased the little animal had been handed over to a responsible new owner, adding he had decided to call him Brian after he’d caught him.
He went on: ‘You’ve got to give everything a name. Every living thing deserves a name, and he’s now called Brian.
‘I was happy to see him go. But also really happy where he was going because the guy who owns the shop had got all kinds of stuff.
‘Brian now seems like a very happy chappy. He’s getting his board and lodgings for free.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
‘I run a mile from wasps and bees, and here I am getting hold of a scorpion.’
