A family in Leicester has been forced to evacuate their home after dozens of Brazilian wandering spiders, among the world's deadliest, emerged from a bunch of bananas bought at Asda. Sophie Newcombe, 26, discovered a white nest attached to a banana while unpacking her weekly shop. When she dropped the fruit, she and her partner Ashley Gamble watched in horror as the spiders scattered across their kitchen floor.
Mr Gamble, a forklift driver, attempted to vacuum up the arachnids but fears many remain loose in the house. 'The nest was around the size of a 20p piece, and they were just falling out of it onto the floor,' he told The Sun. The couple, who have two young daughters, Isla-Rose and Amelia-Lily, packed essentials and moved to Mr Gamble's mother's home. They are now urging Asda to fumigate the property.
The Brazilian wandering spider, whose scientific name Phoneutria means 'murderess' in Greek, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most venomous arachnid. Its bite can cause extreme pain, inflammation, loss of muscle control, breathing problems, and in males, a prolonged and painful erection lasting up to four hours, followed by death within hours if untreated.
Asda has apologised and is investigating. A spokesperson said: 'All our bananas are washed and sprayed before transport and manually checked for quality and stowaways. We sell one billion bananas every year and the chance of finding a spider is incredibly low, but very occasionally one hangs around to give us a fright.'
This is not the first such incident in the UK. In 2005, a British man was hospitalised for a week after being bitten by a Brazilian wandering spider found in a banana shipment. In 2008, a Tesco store in Chatham, Kent, was closed after one was spotted.
