Kita Fitton, 20, feared she would die after scorpion stung her on finger when she reached into packet of bananas while making packed lunches

A young care worker feared she would die after she was stung by a scorpion found inside a sealed pack of Tesco bananas.

Kita Fitton, 20, was at work making packed lunches when she reached into the packet and suddenly felt a sharp pain. When she pulled out her hand, the scorpion fell out, its sting stuck in the end of her finger.

Fitton rushed to A&E, but doctors were not sure how to treat her. After being discharged with pain medication, she still has no sensation in her middle finger.



Fitton, from Crayford in Kent, said: “I’m a brave person, but it was really scary. It felt like a bee sting but at least 40 times worse. The pain was extortionate. It was so painful, I thought I was going to die at one point. It’s manageable now, but I’m going to go back to hospital if it stays numb like this.



“After complaining to Tesco, someone came to collect the packaging for investigation and offered to refund the 59p or whatever it was, which I found a bit insulting. Imagine if children had come into contact with it. It could have been so much worse.”



Fitton works shifts in a residential home for young men with learning difficulties and was making the following day’s packed lunches when the incident occurred.

She said she was thankful that the men had not made their own lunches that evening, as they often do.



After the scorpion stung her, Fitton shouted for help and both residents and her colleagues came running. The scorpion was killed using a colleague’s shoe and sealed in a sandwich bag in case it was needed for evidence.

Fitton drove herself home with an elastic band around her finger to localise the pain, where her father, a former nurse, took her to hospital.



Fitton said: “At first, in hospital they thought it was a joke, as no one gets stung by a scorpion in England. They asked me if it was my pet that had done it, but I’d taken a picture of it and we had done our research in the waiting area. We told them it was a black-edged scorpion from Costa Rica.



“I went into shock. My arm went numb and my heart was racing. My heart rate was just under 100 beats per minute two hours after I’d been stung. My finger had swelled a bit and it looked a bit like a bee sting. There was a hole where the sting had been and there’s still a scab now.”



Fitton is waiting for an apology from Tesco. A spokesperson said: “We set ourselves the highest standards for the quality of our produce. Our customer service team is investigating this enquiry and will update our customer as soon as possible.”