Family discovers tree frog in bag of Sainsbury's bananas

The frog was "bright and alert", despite its 4,300-mile (6,920km) journey

A tree frog from the Dominican Republic has turned up in a family's Sainsbury's shopping.

Iain Holloway from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said his wife discovered the little amphibian sealed inside a bag of Fair Trade bananas.

"We then all stood in the kitchen looking at each other wondering what to do," he explained.

They called the RSPCA, which said the frog had survived a 4,300-mile (6,920km) journey in good condition.

Mr Holloway said his 12-year-old son did a bit of research while they were waiting for the RSPCA to arrive and, from the markings, identified the hopping visitor as a Hispaniolan common tree frog.

"It was a complete surprise to see this little creature in our kitchen so far from home and we've all had a bit of a chuckle about it since," Mr Holloway said.

The bag of bananas arrived to the family home in a delivery from the supermarket giant.

In a statement, the firm apologised. It said cases like this were very rare and there were procedures in place to prevent them happening.

It added that it was investigating this incident with its supplier

The Hispaniolan common tree frog is common in the Dominican Republic, the RSPCA says

The 1.5-inch (3.8cm) frog is now in the care of the RSPCA.

The charity's animal rescue officer Jonny Wood collected the frog on 24 September, the day after the family had found it, and said it was "bright and alert and has since been feeding well".

He added the family "did exactly the right thing by not touching the amphibian, given the uncertainty about what sort of frog we were dealing with".

"These frogs are not dangerous or poisonous, but very common in the Dominican Republic," he said.

It is not the first time Mr Wood has been called to the aid of a foreign visitor.

Last year he was asked to collect a toad which was discovered at Birmingham Airport after travelling from Pakistan in a suitcase.

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