It's an elephant hawk caterpillar
As scary and uuughhh as it looks it turns into this...
A beautiful pink and olive moth
Mum got a little bit scared (oh yes you did) and Dad had to take it to a nearby field to let it go. It is so big and hungry it can demolish your garden in days (she said exaggerating a tad). They are also a protected bug Dad tells me!
Wow, wish nice things would come into my back yard.
