A woman from Arborfield Green has made a shocking discovery in her home when she discovered a potentially deadly scorpion by her front doorstep. 

Payge Aitchison spotted the creepy-crawly sitting on the skirting board inside her house on Tuesday evening.

She thought the creature was a spider or an earwig - but on close inspection, she discovered that it was a scorpion.

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The Berkshire resident took to Facebook for advice, which lead her to contacting the National Centre for Reptile Welfare. 

After seeing a photo of the wildlife and speaking to Payge, an expert from the charity told her that if the scorpion "stings you, you'll die."

The National Centre for Reptile Welfare then sent a representative from Berkshire Reptile Rescue to collect the scorpion.

Graham Martin, who started Berkshire Reptile Rescue 30 years ago, told The Reading Chronicle: "It could be life threatening - it depends on your constitution. We took every precaution when handling it.

"Payge had put it in a clip-lid box - we moved it into one of our boxes and bought it back home and then it was picked up by the national centre the next day. 

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"They will probably have to keep it - its very complicated returning animals to where they have from if they are from abroad."

The NRSW believe that the species is a Tityus serrulatus, also known as the Brazilian Yellow Scorpion, which is described as extremely toxic and as the most dangerous scorpion in South America for the most fatal cases.

Last week, a university student in Bristol found a scorpion crawling inside a parcel from fashion firm Shein last week.