A STUNNED couple found an exotic-looking frog in a bunch of asparagus tips they bought from their local supermarket.
Jim and Ann MacFarlane were about to buy the asparagus at a Morrisons supermarket when they spotted a small green frog clinging to a stem.
The pair alerted staff who managed to coax the docile creature into a plastic container. The couple then contacted their daughter Jenna, a trained aquarist, who came and collected the amphibian from the store in Portsmouth.
Although the white asparagus tips had arrived in the UK from Peru the reptile was identified as a European Tree Frog.
It is believed it arrived in Britain on a shipment of other produce from a Mediterranean country before hopping onto the bunch of Peruvian asparagus at a warehouse.
The frog has now been nicknamed Maurice and is in quarantine at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Southsea, Portsmouth, where Jenna works.
European tree frogs are usually found throughout continental Europe and in parts of Africa and Asia. They grow to about two inches in length and can live for up to 15 years.
They are bright green so they can camouflage themselves against leaves to protect themselves against predators.