A RARE moth found in a Stroud garden is the first of its kind to be spotted in Gloucestershire.

Moth enthusiasts Paul and Rose Kear couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw a beautiful violet and blue clifden nonpareil – described as the "holy grail" of moths seen in the UK – resting in the garden of their Farmhill home. Rose spotted it on Tuesday morning, September 30.

It was sitting on a light trap the couple use to catch moths which they identify before releasing them. Honey is also used to attract the insects.

“I went out to see if we had caught anything and I saw the moth on the side. I knew I had to hurry to tell my husband,” said Rose.

Paul managed to get it into a moth pot and took it inside.

“I was absolutely ecstatic when we realised we had caught such a beautiful and rare moth,” he said.

A wildlife photographer, Paul Taylor took a picture of the moth before it was released and showed it to Robert Holman, a county moth recorder for the Butterfly Conservation charity who confirmed it was the first specimen spotted in Gloucestershire.

Clifden nonpareils come from the Continent but it is thought the warm weather has encouraged them across the channel.