SHRIEKS of delight and fright could be heard at Middlewich Library on August 5 as some hairy, slimy, creepy and crawly friends popped by to say hello.

Around 30 children got to grips with some mini-beasts on Monday afternoon as ZooLab paid a visit to the library.

The ranger took the children on an imaginative journey as he made the handling session into a story.

The children had to imagine a deserted house and suggest what sort of animals they think they would find there.

Along the way, children got to handle some of the animals including a giant snail, a cockroach, tarantula, and a corn snake.

Rowena Gomersall, manager of Middlewich Library, said: “There were some of the children who said ‘I’m not touching that’ but others were really keen to have a go and were very interested.

“I think the parents were also quite surprised by the range of animals and it challenged their own phobias.”

Zoolab takes exotic animals into schools, nurseries and educational establishments for its hands-on workshops.

The visit was organised by Cheshire East Council and the creepy crawly experts will be paying a visit to libraries across the borough this summer.

It is to coincide with The National Reading Challenge – to read 6 books during the summer holidays – and this year’s theme is ‘Creepy House’.

Councillor David Brown, cabinet member in charge of libraries, said: “We are delighted to be once again supporting the national summer reading challenge within our libraries.

“Each year, it gets more and more popular with children and parents and helps keep children amused and makes reading fun.

“Last year, we had an extra 200 children join the library as a result of the challenge. It’s great getting feedback from the children at the awards ceremonies in September and I’m looking forward to seeing which books proved popular this time round.”