Spider was a nasty surprise for woman sorting through washing

A FALSE widow spider has been found lurking among some washing in Bognor Regis.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Nov 2013, 13:00 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:44 BST
Sally Willis nervously holds the trapped false widow spiderSally Willis nervously holds the trapped false widow spider
Sally Willis nervously holds the trapped false widow spider

Sally Willis was sorting through her washing at her home in Berrymill Close when the spider appeared in the basket in front of her.

“It just jumped out at me from inside the washing and scared the life out of me.

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“I hate spiders and as soon as I saw it I knew we needed to get rid of it, especially with 
our kittens around,” said the 31-year-old.

Howard Willis, 71, then managed to capture the spider in a container and stop it from running away.

Mr Willis said: “When I put it in the pot it jumped for my finger but luckily it didn’t get me.

“We knew it was a false widow because of the distinctive skull markings on its back.

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“With the winter coming, I can only assume that it was attracted to the warmth of the clothes.”

The eight-legged insect has distinctive cream markings on its body and is brown with reddish-orangey legs

Sightings have been on the rise in recent months and it is widely known as Britain’s 
most venomous spider.

But it is not usually aggressive towards humans and experts say there have been few bites.

Related topics:Britain