What is this bug

sweet pea Sarah

Does anyone know what beetle this is,think it might have been trying to lay eggs in this rotten stump in my garden?
thought it might be a stag beetle but wasn’t sure.

Dovefromabove

I think that might be a Violet Ground Beetle ... they eat slugs 😀 
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/beetles/violet-ground-beetle

joe.shimmin

I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s not a stag beetle. I hope you find out!

sweet pea Sarah

Joe.shimmin,I didn’t think the head end of the beetle looked like a stag beetle,I’ve only seen a male stag as well,not a female.

B3

We used to have them here. It's definitely not a stag beetle.

Fairygirl

@wild edges might know, if he's looking in. 
It doesn't look like a violet g. beetle to me, but maybe it's the photo. We get lots of them round here. 

wild edges

Tanner beetle would be my guess but they're not very common in the UK.

https://www.naturepl.com/search?s=Tanner+Beetle