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 Visitors and staff at Hastings’ Blue Reef Aquarium enjoyed a weekend of close encounters with a selection of creepy crawlies – courtesy of Port Lympne Zoo. Among the creatures on show were snakes, tarantulas and giant cockroaches and there were special hands-on encounter workshops for brave ‘volunteers’.

In addition to the meet the creatures’ sessions the zoo’s Rob Gordon brought along a number of smuggled and confiscated items; including snake wine and a leopard’s skin to highlight illegal animal trading.

Blue Reef’s Kate Buss said: “It was a hugely successful event and attracted lots of curious visitors.

“As well as members of the public, quite a lot of our own staff managed to overcome their own fears and phobias and get to grips with some of the creatures under Rob’s expert supervision,” she added.

The visit was part of the aquarium’s Predators event which runs until Sunday, April 18th and highlights some of the marine world’s most accomplished hunters; from giant octopus and poison-tipped lionfish to jellyfish and some of the world‘s most toxic species of frog.

Visitors can also find out more about the aquarium’s other potentially dangerous inhabitants including stingrays, archerfish, moray eels and puffer fish.

Designed to appeal to visitors of all ages, Predators includes special talks and feeding demonstrations as well as trails and quizzes.

There are worksheets with quizzes and wordsearches and the chance to win a free family membership for the whole year.