CREEPY critters helped 1st Bishopdown Guides conquer their fears.

The girls got up close with giant snails, hissing cockroaches and giant millipedes.

The 24 girls gathered closely to listen to Bugfest Nick as he introduced them to the array of creatures from across the globe.

The lively entertainer and creature specialist grabbed the youngsters imagination with scorpion facts, introducing the harmless tailless whip scorpion, which was made famous in the Harry Potter films, to the Emperor scorpion and the tiny Arizona hairy scorpion.

In another crate was a 42 legged giant centipede from south America which can walk on any surface and paralyse bats with it's bite.

The guides also got to meet Galaxy, a four-year-old Burmese python.

Group leader Jo Hersey said " We have been trying to find something interesting and personally challenging for the girls, this term is animal themed, being up close and personnel to wild animals is putting something more diverse in their world."