Escaped pet scorpion terrifies passengers on London to Edinburgh express train

FORGET snakes on a plane, a scorpion on a train caused chaos as passengers retreated in fear as the venomous pet arachnid got loose.

You don’t want to encounter this critter on the train. Picture: Getty Images

WE ALL know how much trouble snakes on a plane can cause, but it was a scorpion on a train that caused commuter chaos at New Year.

The pet arachnid was apparently left on board the train by its forgetful owner.

Passengers travelling from London to Edinburgh, for the Scottish capital’s Hogmanay celebrations, got the fright of their life when the venomous critter starting prowling around the standard class carriages.

Journalist Harry Horton told the UK’s Press Association that he first noticed something was awry on the Virgin Trains express when passengers jumped up from their seats and began backing away.

All scorpions are venomous, some to humans. Picture: Getty Images.

“There was something going on at the end of the carriage and I couldn’t quite see what it was,” reported the Mirror.

“A lot of the passengers were up on their feet. All of a sudden a couple came down to my end (and) they said there’s a scorpion on the loose.”

All scorpions possess venom in their tails with around 25 species known to be harmful to humans.

Railway staff came to the passengers’ aid and bravely scooped the scorpion back into the ice cream container it was travelling in. Nonetheless, the train was delayed as the entire carriage was double checked to see if the scorpion was travelling solo or in a group.

There is a scorpion on board our train so we've had to evacuate the carriage. The police are getting on at the next station to assess.

— Harry Horton (@harry_horton) January 1, 2017

Now the guard is asking if there are any vets on board the train to help out.

— Harry Horton (@harry_horton) January 1, 2017

Mr Horton said the scorpion appeared to belong to a woman who was in such a hurry she left her pet arachnid behind when she got off the train.

“The police basically said to her, you’re either getting off here with your scorpion or we’re taking your scorpion from you.

“In the end, she decided to give up the scorpion and give it to the police.”

The incident happened aboard one of Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains in the UK. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A British Transport Police spokeswoman said: “We were called at 2.56pm to a Virgin train from (London) King’s Cross to Edinburgh and we met the train at Peterborough.

“A scorpion had escaped from a passenger’s bag, but it had been recaptured quickly and put in an ice cream box.

“We have taken the scorpion to an exotic pet rescue in Peterborough.”