THERE was a time when the Beatles played on the wireless and fans would screech with appreciation.

But when Ringo made a surprise appearance on the radio at an East Lancashire factory workers screamed with fear.

Far from being the lovable mop-top of the 60s, this Ringo was the other kind of beetle and was found scurrying all over the factory's radio.

And employees said they had never seen anything like it.

Experts are currently studying the intruder to find exactly what species he belongs to, although the first impressions are that he is a long-horned beetle - a native of China.

Ringo was discovered on the factory floor at vacuum formers and fabricators J and A Kay, at Cotton Hall Mill, Darwen, yesterday.

Forming technician Steve Wright, from Darwen, who first came across the creature, said: "I thought to myself 'what the hell is that'.

"I had never seen anything like it and it scared me to death.

"I am not usually scared of things like that but it was just looking at me and I didn't know if it was going to jump on me or what.

"It certainly looked foreign to me and I just hope there are no more about."

Wearing leather work-gloves, one brave colleague grabbed the beetle - they named in honour of the Fab Four drummer - and placed it in a plastic box.

They then phoned the experts to find out what it actually was and how it got there.

Work supervisor Richard Bury thinks it got a ticket to ride on a pallet from Italy.

He said: "The only thing we can think of is the delivery from Italy.

"We got that six weeks ago and it could have been living here since."

Beetle boffin Dave Anderson, head of the natural history department at the East Lancashire Biological Record Centre, based at Towneley Hall, Burnley , said it definitely came from abroad.

He said: "I am still trying to determine exactly what it is and where it is from but it is a long-horned beetle and it's too big to be one from this country.

"It probably did come from Italy, like the company claim, although it could be from the Asian species.

"It is unusual and not the sort you usually see in these parts."