A family in south London has been left deeply traumatised after discovering one of the world's most venomous spiders in their Waitrose grocery delivery. The Brazilian wandering spider, which can kill a human in two hours, was hiding in a bunch of bananas and had laid a sac containing hundreds of eggs.
Father Tim, who did not give his surname, spotted the spider while unpacking the shopping. In shock, he dropped the bananas into a fruit bowl, inadvertently trapping the spider's leg. The spider tore off its own leg to escape and vanished, prompting a frantic search as the family, including two young sons aged seven and eight, fled the house.
The RSPCA advised the family to contact the police, who said they could not remove the spider. Waitrose then sent a pest expert, Steve Trippett, who described the spider as "hardcore". He found the spider hiding in the fruit bowl, where it became aggressive, standing on its back legs and showing its fangs. Trippett used a 3ft stick to manoeuvre the spider into a heavy plastic box, which was then placed inside two other boxes. The spider was later taken to a scientific centre abroad.
The family were too traumatised to remain in the house and spent the night with friends. Waitrose offered them £150 in shopping vouchers and a family day out as compensation. A spokesperson said: "The safety of our customers is our absolute priority. We did everything we could to look after our customer during what was a distressing incident and we've apologised personally."
The Brazilian wandering spider is normally found in South American tropical forests and has caused 14 reported deaths since 1926. Its venom can cause loss of muscle control, breathing problems, paralysis, and asphyxiation. However, the venom is also being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments, as its bite can cause an erection lasting up to four hours.
This is not the first such incident in the UK. Last month, a woman in Essex had to incinerate her vacuum cleaner after finding eggs in bananas from Tesco. In March, a family evacuated their Staffordshire home after finding hundreds of hatchlings, and last November, a Tesco store in Kent closed for several hours after a Brazilian wandering spider was found under a box of bananas.
