Toilet-dwelling lizard inconveniences Bristol man Published duration 29 April

image copyright Elaine and Andy Brown image caption Andy Brown was put off his stride by his small toilet companion

A man got the surprise of his life when he went to use the downstairs toilet and found it was occupied - by a gecko.

Andy Brown discovered the 7in (18cm) long reptile when he lifted the toilet lid at the family home in Keynsham, Bristol, on Tuesday morning.

His wife Elaine said he put the lid "straight back down" and came upstairs to tell her: "Don't use the downstairs toilet, there's a lizard in it."

The gargoyle gecko, which is "doing well", has since been adopted locally.

Mrs Brown said her husband wondered "what the heck it was" when he made the discovery.

She said: "I ran downstairs and lifted up the lid and there it was.

"I put the lid down and thought, 'what are we going to do?'"

image copyright Elaine and Andy Brown image caption The gecko is a young female

Unable to get hold of the RSPCA, she called a friend who keeps reptiles who came over and rescued it.

"I was worried it would go back down the toilet and get wedged," she said.

"But he managed to grab her and take her home and warm her up."

image copyright Elaine and Andy Brown image caption 'You've got to be taking the pee'

It is thought the "cold and very lethargic" reptile may have been in the toilet for several days.

"The downstairs toilet had been blocked for two or three days," said Mrs Brown.

"I don't know if the gecko was blocking it but I put some hot water down and it worked, but I wonder if the warm water attracted her."

Mrs Brown said it had all been a "bit frantic and very strange".

"No-one will use that toilet now but I will, I don't care," she said.

Originally from New Caledonia, gargoyle geckos are a popular pet for British lizard lovers.