'False widow' spider found in Maidenhead house

A shocked housewife may have made the first sighting of a false widow spider in Maidenhead following an unpleasant discovery on Monday.

Toni Barker, of Evenlode, came face-to-face with an arachnid of a similar size and bearing the distinctive markings of the notorious spider, which has made national headlines in recent weeks with its nasty bite.

The 47-year-old found it on her bedroom curtains and had to call her husband, Neil, in for assistance.

She said: "As he went to take it I said I wonder if it's a false widow and he jumped back.

"I just don't like anything in my bedroom. If it moves I get it out, even if it's a daddy longlegs."

The couple were able to capture the spider in a pot, and later released it back into the wild.

The Advertiser sent a photo of the creature to pest controllers PESTUK, but the company said it cannot be sure it is a false widow as the abdomen is normally larger.