Brits buying online from Chinese sellers should be cautious when opening packages
The public have been told to beware of unwelcome – and potentially lethal – stowaways in parcels from China.
Over 60% of Brits now shop from Chinese marketplaces such as Temu and Shein, but that has caused an increase in the number of potentially dangerous creatures such as scorpions and spiders accidentally arriving in UK homes.
In the past few weeks, several cases of stowaway scorpions in packages from China have hit the headlines.
After ordering a fashion bargain from Shein, a student in Bristol discovered a sting in the tail when a highly venomous scorpion was found in the box.
Similarly, after ordering a treadmill, a couple from Basingstoke found one in their Amazon third-party order from China.
Now delivery specialists Parcelhero is warning Brits buying online from overseas sellers to be cautious when opening packages ordered from China, just in case unwelcome creatures have crawled their way inside.
Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks says: "More of us than ever now use online marketplaces to order products direct from China.
"43% of Brits who shop online have bought items such as household goods from Temu, 42% have ordered fashion items from Shein, 25% have purchased accessories and other goods from TikTok Shop and 22% products such as electronics from AliExpress."
But there might be more than they bargained for inside these innocent-looking packages.
An expert told the BBC this week that there appears to have been a "worrying" increase in cases of potentially dangerous creatures lurking inside packages from China, with three venomous scorpions appearing to have been shipped in the last month.
Chris Newman, from the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW), told the BBC: "We've had 200 stowaways this year.
"Twelve have been scorpions and three of those have been within the last month – the same species of scorpion from China."
"Of course, thousands of e-commerce parcels arrive daily from China into the UK, so this is proportionately a very small amount.
"However, the fact that any parcel may potentially contain something a lot scarier than Halloween lights is something online shoppers should keep in mind."
Trade with China is accelerating rapidly. For example, in less than two years since its UK launch, Temu has already become a favourite site of online shoppers.
However, people have been told to exercise some caution when opening parcels from China and other countries where potentially dangerous creatures, such as scorpions, spiders and snakes, may be found.
"For example, scorpions have a very slow metabolism and use very little oxygen so they don’t need much ventilation," Mr Newman said.
"That means if one of these creatures crawls into a box in China, the chances of it surviving the journey are quite high.
"If you are at all concerned about a parcel, particularly if you have a pet that seems to be very interested in it, perhaps barking or scratching at the package, it’s best to take precautions."