YOUNGSTERS came face to face with an array of creepy crawlies during a special nursery session.

Zoological expert Gary Spires visited Bedale Day Nursery, together with an amazing variety of animals.

A 2ft long North American milk snake, an emperor scorpion - which is among the largest in the world - a tarantula spider and a giant African millipede were among the creatures introduced to the class of youngsters.

And, while the younger children felt it was a step too far, many others were happy to feel the scales of the non-venomous adult snake or the texture and shell of an African land snail.

Mr Spires' company, Zoo Lab UK, gives talks on science subjects to schools and children's organisations across the country.

He said: "We find that this method of introducing youngsters to such creatures is better and cheaper than going to a zoo, where you have no hands-on experience.

"A lot of things seem very scary at first but are not so bad when you have a chance to meet them. By introducing children to animals in this way, hopefully they will not develop phobias.

"We have found that girls always want to touch things more than the boys. The quiet boys are often those who are more ready to touch than those who might be called bully boys."