Planting out some bedding plants today and in one old plant pot came across an ugly looking thing! It was about an inch long, quite plump and had two tiny black eyes and a short black spike at the other end. It was a sort of coppery brown colour. I looked up leather jacket on google, but I couldn't see any like the one I saw.
It sounds like a rat tailed maggot. Its the offspring of a fly. It lays its eggs in usually stagnant damp places. They look like rather large tadpoles with thin tails. I will try to get a pic for you...
Thanks everybody for your help. I still don't know what it was. It's not that horrible looking rat tailed maggot. The creatuee I saw only has a small spike at its rear end !
DocSausage - those beetles come in varying sizes, the one I saw, actually on my back doorstep, was huge. I ran inside and shut all windows and doors !
tony suggetsed that 237, but no, I looked that up as well. The body was completely smooth on this thing, no segments or protrusions of any kind, but two tiny black piercing eyes - God, it was strange !
The hawkmoth larvae is the nearest to it so far, but like I said, it doesn't have legs (or protrusions) of any kind, but I'm wondering now if it is some kind of large moth larvae ??