Put a sock in it ... that was never a lizard under the bed

HIDING silently in the shadows under the bed, the sinister creature looked poised to pounce.

So much so that the terrified family who spotted it feared a dangerous lizard had invaded their teenage daughter’s bedroom.

At that point, the parents of many teenagers might have hesitated. But not this family. They called in the RSPCA to rescue the reptile from the home in Coventry ... and their embarrassment began. RSPCA officer Vic Hurr said she first approached the lizard with caution not knowing whether it was a dangerous breed.

‘It was around seven inches long and about two inches wide. It was protruding from the edge of the bed and it wasn’t moving at all,’ she said. ‘As it wasn’t very light, I got out my torch to see better and that’s when I realised it wasn’t a lizard at all – it was a pink stripey sock [pictured right].

‘I advised the young girl whose bedroom it was to tidy her room and to take care of her socks.’

A RSPCA spokesman added: ‘It was definitely one of our more unusual call-outs. The family called us in a bit of a panic, they were terrified a lizard had got into their house.

‘It was obviously dark in the room and I think fear just set in. But they said it had been there for about a week and hadn’t moved in that time.

‘When she found out it was a pink stripey sock, the family were mortified.

‘Vic said she couldn’t stop laughing once she got back into the car and I think the family eventually saw the funny side too. The sock had obviously been there quite a while. It was a typical teenager’s bedroom, I suppose.’