UKs ‘most harmful spider’ assaults mating season for creepy critters begins

It’s that time of your again where you’ll start to notice more arachnids than usual – and that’s because it’s spider mating season.

Yes, that’s right. The eight-legged freaks are out with a vengeance and on the prowl to fulfil their horny critter needs (really).

While most of the teeny – and sometimes frighteningly big – creatures are harmless to humans, others do pose a risk.

READ MORE: Horny spiders to invade UK homes in their thousands as arachnid season begins

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Although the UK is home to over 750 million spiders, only three of the 60 species living amongst us can actually give you a bit of a bite.

While none are poisonous, the venom of the noble false widow – Britain’s ‘most dangerous’ spider – could lead to some nasty reactions and some Brits have truly bared the brunt of that.

Here, we take a look at some of the Brits who have sustained grisly reactions to spider attacks – from an 11-year-old ‘delusional’ lad to a bloke with ‘rotting’ flesh.

‘Leg swells like balloon’

Shane Parmenter, 36, from Chelmsford, Essex, was fast asleep in a music studio when horror hit. The rapper – whose name is aptly MC Napz – managed to doze off after initially trying to squish a gruesome looking spider.

But, the critter – that happened to be ‘Britain’s most dangerous’ – got its revenge while Shane slept. The noble false widow ‘attacked’ Shane when he was vulnerable and left him to wake to a stinging sensation.

He noticed the vengeful spider scurry away from his trouser leg hours after his mate joked it would ‘come back’ and get him. However, what happened next was no laughing matter.

Shane said it was “uncomfortable” at first and the area of the bite turned red almost instantly. But, before long, the musician’s leg began to swell like a “balloon” – and it was time to get emergency services involved.

Last year after the dealing with the spider, Shane admitted: “It got a whole lot worse. My leg swelled up like a balloon. I felt sick, I felt nauseous, I was dizzy, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat.

“It went from a little mark on my leg, to massive – it just kept getting bigger and bigger, more swollen and swollen. You could see that it was getting infected.”

He then contacted NHS 111 where they told him to circle the bite with a pen so he could monitor the spread of the swelling. Scarily, it continued to grow – completely surpassing the pen mark.

Despite going to the hospital, where he received dressings and antibiotics, the wound was relentless and continued to ooze pus.

Shane even felt the bite ‘pop’ one night while he was on the loo and the liquid coming from it dripped down his leg. Since then, the bloke’s physical and mental health suffered – even stopping him from working.

Reflecting on the vicious attack, he said: “It’s made me a bit shook of spiders. I wasn’t scared of spiders before but I definitely damn well am now.”

‘Schoolboy delusional and unable to walk’

The noble false widow had its eyes on younger prey this time – an 11-year-old schoolboy.

The country’s ‘most dangerous’ spider’s bite was so strong that little lad Matthew had to be rushed to A&E for medical intervention.

However, the attack from the critter wasn’t obvious at first. The Surrey-born boy was settling down on Christmas Day when he noticed a mysterious graze on the back of his leg.

Matthew’s mum said the mark wasn’t “immediately obvious” but the lad complained of a sore leg. Although, things really took a turn for the worse on Boxing Day.

The boy complained of a shuddering pain from the mark that started to form a scab. And just 24 hours later, Matthew would not be able to withstand his weight.

According to his mum, Matthew became “delusional and had a temperature of 39.7C, his leg was red and cellulitis had begun to form. I rushed him to hospital.”

Luckily, doctors were able to help the lad get back on his feet after the venomous spider attack. He was given a course of antibiotics intravenously but was warned he might need surgery to remove all the venom.

Matthew was back home the next day with a hefty supply of antibiotics – he needed eight tablets every 24 hours – to tackle what felt like “skin was going to split.”

‘Rotting flesh’

In one of the most gnarly documented bites from the noble false widow, one man suffered from he could only describe as ‘rotting flesh’.

Jason Missey, from Kent, initially thought that a ‘sting’ he got from his garden was nothing concerning. Though, that was until the then 50-year-old started to experience something out of a horror movie.

After pottering around in his garden, Jason remembers flicking a spider away around the same time he developed a little mark. He thought this was from a horse-fly at first.

Only a short time had passed when Jason’s finger started to swell and become increasingly red. The pain increased in severity, pus started to spew from the wound and his skin started to ‘come off’.

The nightmare spider attack didn’t stop there. Jason then had to go to hospital as what started as an ‘angry red spot’ turned rapidly vicious.

Over a six week period, Jason said he had to “pull” his finger apart as the spider venom slowly ‘ate’ away at his flesh.

Jason, who described the pain as an 11/10, said: “Every two days you could take the dressing off, and then you had to pull dead parts off by yourself.

“It was painful. When it was down to virtually the tendons and the muscle, when you’ve got tweezers on bits, pulling things that aren’t supposed to be pulled, it was very painful.

“I’ve got a big pain threshold but it was bad – very bad.”