Returning from holiday is never easy, so spare a thought for an Islington artist who had a strange surprise in her luggage.

While in Paxos, Dartmouth Park resident Sonya Winner bought a lizard figurine to put in her Islington rug studio with all the bright colours she uses in her work.

And little did she know that the next day she would find a real lizard in her suitcase.

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Sonya, 55, said: “I was also told that this baby lizard was only 10 days old when I found it, which means it was born on the day I got married. I’m even thinking of designing a rug inspired by it.”

Islington Gazette: The Greek odyssey was made all the stranger by the fact Sonya had a model lizard as well.The Greek odyssey was made all the stranger by the fact Sonya had a model lizard as well. (Image: Sonya Winner)

Sonya asked London Zoo to take the reptile with no luck and then posted on the Nextdoor app to ask for advice on what to do and was flooded with offers of help.

In the end Sonya gave the lizard to a Truffles café employee who knew someone in the reptile community who could look after it.

She said: “It had a traumatic journey into these cold lands and I don’t have the equipment necessary to look after it - caring for reptiles is a bit complicated. But I will definitely visit it.”

Sonya Winner’s rug studio is in NW5 1ST.