RSPCA called out to deal with motionless reptile in girl’s bedroom in Coventry, only to discover it is dirty item of clothing

A family who thought they had discovered a lizard in their house were found to have overestimated the scale of the problem – after it turned out to be a dirty sock.

The “terrified” family called the RSPCA to their Coventry home after they thought they had spotted a reptile under a bed.

Vic Hurr, an animal collection officer with the charity, said she approached the “lizard” cautiously as she was unsure what breed it might be.

“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.

“I advised the young girl whose bedroom it was to tidy her room and to take care of her socks, but not before reminding her that another one will turn up soon as they are usually in pairs.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A close-up view of the dirty sock. Photograph: RSPCA/PA

Previous unusual callouts by the RSPCA have included a smoke alarm’s beep being mistaken for a bird in a loft, and multiple cases of toy animals being mistaken for the real thing, including a toy snake and plastic crocodile.

An RSPCA spokeswoman told the Telegraph that the family who mistook the sock for a lizard said it had been there for a week without moving. She said when they realised their mistake “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.”