Street Cordoned Off For Two Hours After ’Deadly’ Scorpion Sighting. It Was A Toy

Remember the time cops in Scotland were engaged in a 45-minute-long standoff with a tiger which later turned out to be a stuffed animal? A similar scenario played out in England, this time involving a venomous scorpion.

A street in Grantham, Lincolnshire was cordoned off for two hours after a woman spotted a 'deadly' bright red scorpion in the area, reported Daily Mail. Panicked residents called the 24-hour helpline of RSPCA (Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to remove the arachnid. While help was on the way, the woman blocked off the area with cones and residents kept a close eye on the scorpion, reported Lincolnshire Live.

According to RSPCA animal collection officer Paula Jones, a child in the neighbourhood first spotted the eight-legged creature and informed the adults. When she arrived on scene, the scorpion was found in the same spot it was initially found in.

"I was dealing with another emergency elsewhere but headed over to Grantham as quickly as possible... Some types of scorpions are highly venomous making them potentially very dangerous," Daily Mail quotes RSPCA's Paula Jones.

But panic soon turned to embarrassment when residents were told by the rescue officer that the deadly scorpion they feared was actually just a child's plastic toy.

The scorpion nicknamed 'Cecil' was removed and it now sits on officer Jones' dashboard.

Earlier in February, a team of police officers in Scotland's Aberdeenshire rushed to the scene after a man claimed he had spotted a "wild animal" on his farm. Police sent several vehicles, including an armed response team to the farm but after a tense 45-minute face-off with the animal, they realised it was just a stuffed toy.