CASTRO the Cuban cockroach caused quite a stir when he was found on a bunch of bananas bought from a Burnley shop.

The cockroach, known for being the prettiest of all the species, is quite a rare visitor to these shores as Burnley Council environmental health officer Jayne Enright discovered when she checked up on the little insect with the entomology section of Liverpool Museum.

She said: "We were contacted by a woman who said she found the creature on a bunch of bananas she had just bought.

"The Cuban cockroach's Latin name is Panchlora - meaning all green - and it is a beautiful pale green colour. The books are right it is very pretty."

The cockroach is a native of Central and South America and the West Indies and is frequently brought into Britain on West Indian bananas.

Castro is only about 30mm long, but has proved a big hit with the officers in the environmental health department at Padiham Town Hall especially as staff have never seen a cockroach like him before.

Mrs Enright said: "We investigate complaints on behalf of the public but although retailers have responsibility to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen we are not going to take any action."

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