IN 2010, Taunton was plagued by a caterpillar invasion which left experts baffled.

Experts were unable to identify the caterpillar species, which stripped a Taunton tree of its leaves and left it shrouded in a spider-like web.

Thousands of the creatures devoured every green morsel of a tree in the grounds of Winchester House, on Winchester Street.

Bob Cuthbert, who had lived on the road for seven years at the time, spoke to the County Gazette.

He said: “It has been the worst it has ever been and it has lasted a lot longer. Normally they’re there for eight days, but they’ve been on that tree for three weeks now and they’re still there.

“They’ve eaten all the leaves on the tree, so I don’t know what they’re doing for food now.

“We don’t know where they come from or where they go. We never get a problem with moths when they disappear, so what happens to them?”

A hunt on the internet by the County Gazette suggested the creatures may have been ermine moth caterpillars.

A spokesperson for the Somerset Butterfly Conservation group had disagreed, but said he could not name the type of caterpillar.