A lingerie-loving lizard was found lounging in a bra after travelling all the way from Barbados to sunny Yorkshire on a transatlantic flight.

The tiny gecko, now called Barbie, was spotted by Lisa Russell as she unpacked her suitcase after arriving back at her home near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Ms Russell said: “When it moved, I started screaming. It is not what you expect to find in your bra after a 4,000-mile journey.”

Barbie is now safe in the RSPCA’s care.

The returning holidaymaker, who lives in Thrybergh, arrived home on Tuesday and started to unpack her suitcase after holidaying in the Caribbean.

Ms Russell, 47, saw what she thought was a speck on her bra and shook the underwear and it was then she spotted the female lizard moving.

“The tiny lizard was lucky as the bra was on top of my suitcase on my clean pile. As it was so hot out there, I didn’t bother wearing one,” the beautician said.

Ms Russell revealed that the gecko remained unharmed in its lacy lair despite her sitting on the full suitcase in order to zip it up before her return journey to Yorkshire.

Barbie the lizard, named after the famous doll and the lizard’s island home, had survived 24 hours in the garment uninjured.

An RSPCA inspector was dispatched to deal with the tiny survivor, which appeared unscathed after its underwear odyssey.

Sandra Dransfield, of the RSPCA, said releasing the lizard in the UK would be illegal as it was a non-native species and it “would not survive in our climate”.

The gecko was taken in by a specialist reptile keeper where she is said to be doing well.