Lizard that travelled to South Yorkshire from Barbados in a bra among RSPCA's most memorable rescues

The RSPCA has listed a rescue it carried out for a gecko that travelled to South Yorkshire in a bra as one of its most memorable of 2021.

The lingerie-loving lizard travelled more than 4,000 miles in a woman’s bra from sunny Barbados to Rotherham in September.

The tiny globe-trotting gecko was only spotted by Lisa Russell when she returned to her house on September 8 and went to unpack her suitcase.

She gave her bra a shake and saw the gecko scamper off.

Lisa said: “I thought it was a tiny dead creature and then when it moved I started screaming - it is not what you expect to find in your bra after a 4,000-mile journey!

“I wasn't sure what to do - but managed to put it safely in a box and then called the RSPCA for help.”

RSPCA Inspector Sandra Dransfield was sent to collect the gecko and took him to a specialist for care.

This year in South Yorkshire, the RSPCA has carried out 7,167 rescues.

And across the whole of the north, 71,638 incidents were reported to the charity’s frontline teams via its emergency hotline.

Luckily, the charity said that they all had happy endings.

The RSPCA is the only charity out on the frontline rescuing animals from all sorts of situations 365 days a year.

Winter is a difficult time where the charity faces increased demand. You can support them by heading here and donating.