Scorpion found on Swansea University campus

A European yellow-tailed scorpion has been found on a wall at Swansea University.

It is not known how the creature ended up there as the only settled populations known to exist in the UK are on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

RSPCA Cymru said it was found on 16 November adding its appearance was a "complete mystery".

The species is usually 35 to 45mm in length but while its sting is painful, it is not considered dangerous.

It usually lives in rock walls, and other rocky areas but the RSPCA is not sure if the scorpion has come from a domestic home, arrived in Swansea accidentally on a boat, or somehow travelled there from elsewhere in the UK.

Nicole Wallace, RSPCA animal collection officer, who rescued the scorpion, said: "We are eager to find out any information which may help us decipher where this scorpion came from.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to know whether this scorpion has come from a domestic home, arrived in Swansea accidentally on a boat, or somehow travelled here from elsewhere in the UK."