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A terrified student got a lot more than she bargained for after discovering a “pretty scary” scorpion in her Shein parcel.
Sofia Alonso-Mossinger, 18, was opening a package containing a pair of boots from the fast-fashion brand when the menacing and venomous intruder made an appearance.
The teenager said: “I thought it was a toy - and then it moved.”
“I thought I was dreaming.
“I feel like I am all right with spiders and things but it was scary being in my room with a random scorpion.“
The University of Bristol student saw the insect peering out from underneath clothing.
After realising it was a scorpion, Ms Alonso-Mossinger rezipped the bag, got it out of her room and called her flatmates.
Her friend, Zoology student Oliver James, quickly grabbed the horrifying creature with a pair of kitchen tongs before placing it in a plastic box.
Shocking video shows the insect scurrying around the container with its threatening claws and tail in a bid to flee.
Another flatmate Phoebe Hunt, 18, said she heard screaming and rushed out to find Ms Alonso-Mossinger.
She said they were “not exactly buzzing to have a scorpion in the flat”, adding: “At first, I’ll be honest, I said we should kill it and then everyone pointed out that wasn’t the most humane thing so we scooped it up and put it in a Tupperware.”
Chris Newman, from the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, sent an expert over within a couple of hours to collect the insect and said reports of such stowaways were surprisingly frequent.
He added: “The scorpion is Olivierus martensii, it doesn’t really have a common name other than Chinese scorpion”.
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Mr Newman said its sting would be “medically significant... potentially life-threatening but an average adult would just have a really bad day”,
He told BBC News: “It is quite worrying this is the second one we have had in under a month that has come in this way.”
China-based Shein said it was looking into the incident.