A British woman was surprised to find a lizard hidden in her bra as she unpacked following a 4,000-mile flight from Barbados.
The lingerie-loving reptile swapped the warm beaches of the Caribbean for Rotherham after hitching a ride in one of Lisa Russell’s unworn bras.
The miniature lizard was named Barbie after the busty doll and the island from where she came.
Beautician Lisa, 47, said: ‘I thought it was dead and then when it moved I started screaming.
‘The tiny lizard was lucky as the bra was on top of my suitcase on my clean pile. It was so hot out there I didn’t bother wearing one.
‘It must have been happy in its new pad. I am just so shocked; not only did it survive the journey but also the fact it didn’t get squashed as my suitcase was so full when we were returning I had to sit on it to get it zipped up.
‘It must have been in my suitcase for at least 24 hours as I packed it on Monday morning local time and started unpacking at lunchtime the following day.’
She called the RSPCA, which sent inspector Sandra Dransfield, who gave some water drops to the lizard and coined its Barbie nickname.
Sandra said: ‘Lisa was quite relaxed about the whole thing and thought it was funny that the gecko had safely made the trans-Atlantic crossing in her bra.
‘She was laughing and said to me “Imagine taking a nap and then waking up in Rotherham!”
‘Unlike a lot of women the lizard must have found it comfy. It has travelled more than 4,000 miles and appears unscathed by her adventure and unlike most holidaymakers did not need to have Covid tests.
‘I am just glad Lisa called us as some people may think to release animals like this into the wild, which is illegal as they are a non-native species and also sad as they would not survive in our climate.’
The gecko has since been taken in by a specialist reptile keeper where she is doing well.
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