A couple were left shocked when they feared they had found a giant killer Asian hornet - blamed for the deaths of six people - in their Headcorn home.

The two-inch bug was captured by Bron and Ray Sadler after it buzzed into their Station Road home.

But tests have revealed it is not one of the massive bugs originally from China that can eat their way through 50 of our home-grown bees in a day.

In France, where many have already arrived, six people have died from anaphylactic shock after being stung.

Mrs Sadler said: "I saw it on the curtain and I thought it looked about two inches long. I decided to get it into a jug and called Ray.

"He put something over the jug and we sprayed fly spray in there. I took one look at it and thought, 'I don’t want to get stung by that'."

A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "There have been no confirmed sightings of Asian hornets in the UK - they are smaller than our own native hornets and are no more dangerous.

"We are aware of the potential impacts they could have on honey bees and have plans in place to eradicate them if they are identified.

"In Great Britain we would not expect Asian hornets to establish outside southern parts of England and Wales due to colder weather."

He urged people to email reports of any potential sightings with a photo to lertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.