The video will start in 8 Cancel

Latest news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A giant Atlas moth has been returned to Stratford Butterfly Farm - after it hatched from a cocoon allegedly swiped by a teenager.

Paige Firkins claimed to have pocketed the large cocoon when she visited the farm on Saturday.

She later boasted on Facebook that it had hatched into 'the biggest butterfly i've ever seen'.

She wrote on Facebook: "So we kinda took the biggest cocoon from the butterfly farm and out come the biggest butterfly I've ever seen."

Staff at the visitor attraction branded the theft 'irresponsible, cruel and criminal'.

Concerned visitors demanded the return of the insect - one of the biggest on the planet with a wingspan of up to 30 centimetres across.

Police confirmed they were investigating the incident and on Thursday, officers recovered the moth and returned it to the sanctuary.

Warwickshire Police said a 19-year-old woman from Birmingham had also been given a 'community resolution'.

In a post on its Facebook page, staff from the farm wrote: "We are delighted to announce the return of our Atlas moth.

"It is now back on display in the Discovery Zone.

"Thank you to everyone who has messaged, e-mailed and telephoned their support and concern over this matter."

The attraction shared two images of the huge moth.

One showed the stunning insect on the back of a police officer.

A statement from the attraction read: "Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm is delighted to announce the safe return of its Atlas Moth which is now back on display in the Discovery Zone.

"The Farm would like to thank everyone who has been working behind the scenes to arrange the safe return of the moth, in particular to Warwickshire police and P.C Garlic and her colleague.

A spokeswoman for Warwickshire Police said: "We are pleased to confirm the moth was collected this morning and safely returned.

"A 19-year-old woman from Birmingham was given a community resolution."

The Atlas moth had been unlikely to survive longer than six days without the care of staff at the butterfly farm.

The attraction is a tropical environment simulated inside large greenhouses.

There are numerous free-flying butterflies and birds and insects and spiders within glass displays.

Earlier this week, Stratford Butterfly Farm issued an impassioned plea to Paige to return the insect.

They wrote: "What you have done is completely irresponsible, cruel and criminal.

"You need to return the moth immediately.

"It is a female and will start to lay eggs very soon."