A pensioner has been left shocked after finding a frog in a packet of bananas bought in a Tesco in Carlisle.

Alan Little, 73, bought the bag of fruit yesterday from the Tesco Metro store in Victoria Viaduct.

But when he got back to his home in the Longsowerby area of the city and opened it up he made a startling discovery.

"I got such a shock when I saw this small frog-like creature sat in the packet," Mr Little said.

"It looks like something you would see in a David Attenborough programme.

"Its feet have these little suckers on them."

On examination the animal is believed to be some kind of tree frog. It was not alive when Mr Little discovered it, he said.

Mr Little, a retired railway maintenance operative, took the 90p pack of bananas which originated from the Ivory Coast, Africa, back to the store this morning.

He said he hadn't eaten any of the four bananas contained in the pack - but the ordeal hasn't put him off eating bananas in the future.

Mr Little is a regular shopper at Tesco and says nothing like this has ever happened before.

"I went in just for bananas," he added.

"I'm not complaining about the shop or anything because I understand these things happen.

"I was just shocked and surprised. I thought what on earth is this?"

A Tesco spokesperson: “We sell millions of bananas every week and our growers work hard to clean and inspect all our fruit carefully, so it’s extremely rare to find unexpected guests.

"We’ve apologised to Alan for this unexpected find and hope to see him in store again soon.”

The company pointed out that all bananas are washed prior to packing and regular quality checks are conducted through the supply chain.