MINI beasts and scary spiders swarmed a city centre museum as bug lover George McGavin dropped by.

The bug expert, who appears on BBC’s The One Show, explored the fascinating world of insects at The Story Museum on Sunday.

Daring youngsters and their parents joined the star as they let their favourite creepy crawlies rest on their hands after his special talk.

Mr McGavin, who was an academic zoologist for 30 years before taking to the small screen, said: “It was a great audience. I like sharing my excitement for these insects with an audience.

“Insects are the most essential organism on Earth. They have been around for 400 million years. We are pretty much new boys on the block. Plus, they do so much for the environment.”

About 80 guests gathered at the Pembroke Street museum to hear the natural history expert’s Bug Love talk, where he lifted the lid on why everyone should love bugs.

He also shared a selection of insect-themed poems from writers including Ogden Nash and Liz Brownlee at the event, which took place between 2pm and 3pm.

Mr McGavin said he thought all insects were “marvellous” but said bees were “universally wonderful and loved by everyone”.