A group of 36 giant snails has been seized from a passenger's luggage at an airport.

Border Force officers at Glasgow Airport found the living giant African land snails when a man arrived from Amsterdam earlier this month.

They discovered the snails, which are around 15cm-long on average, when checking the luggage of the Nigerian man who said they were to be used as food.

Officers seized the snails because live animals require an import licence which the man did not have. They were passed on to a rescue organisation and the passenger was warned about the restrictions on bringing the creatures into the UK.

The snails, not native to the UK, have shells the size of a small human fist. While they are unlikely to survive a British winter, they could pass on diseases to the indigenous snail population if released into the wild.

Murdo MacMillan, of the Border Force in Scotland, said: "The vigilance of our officers at Glasgow Airport has stopped these snails from entering Scotland, and possibly posing a risk to our native plants and wildlife.

"I would warn travellers not to attempt to bring live animals into the UK without a permit, or to bring in any products of animal origin which may contain pests or diseases."