A STROLL in late September 1898 turned into a terrible experience for a young house maid and her charges, and could have had fatal consequences.

The maid had been out for a walk along the road leading to Muirpark near Tullibody pushing a baby in a perambulator.

With her was the baby’s older brother walking beside her carrying a toy spade.

The young boy noticed what looked like a ball of brown paper so, curious to find out what was wrapped in the supposed paper, he poked it with his spade.

Almost as soon as he did so, a swarm of wasps started to come from it, as it turned out to be a wasp’s bike, and soon all three of them were covered in wasps, stinging them relentlessly and repeatedly.

The servant and the young boy ran, hoping to outrun the insects, but in doing so, deserted the baby in its pram, who by this time was screaming.

Both the maid and the boy were also screaming at the top of their lungs, which alerted a gentleman walking nearby at the time.

He rushed to the scene, grabbed the helpless baby, and hurried to the house where the parents of the child lived.

All the way, as the baby lay in his arms, he kept stripping off the baby’s clothing.

By the time he entered the house, the child was unconscious, and the baby’s face was badly swollen due to the stings.

As soon as it ascertained what was happening, Dr Dyer from Alloa, who happened to be in Tullibody at the time, was called for, and arrived quickly at the house.

At first when he saw the baby, he thought there was no hope of the little one surviving as the child’s condition had deteriorated so much.

However, after a time, the baby rallied round and went on to make a full recovery.

As for the servant and the little boy, a woman who lived in the area took charge and helped the pair.

She herself was badly strung by the wasps but her first thought was for the victims of the bike.

The maid and the boy were stung all over their bodies and the woman who helped had around a dozen wasps removed from under one of her armpits.

Miraculously, the young man who helped rescue the baby was not stung at all.

He put it down to using his cap to ward them off.