Man 'struggling to walk' after horror bite from 'Britain's most dangerous spider' false widow

A man bitten by Britain’s most was left in agony and now struggles to walk after cleaning at home.

Keith Robinson, 65, was when he suddenly developed a large, angry inflammation on his leg. At first he attempted to treat it using painkillers and savlon, but before long it became too much to bear and he went to the hospital. He was later diagnosed with cellulitis around the wound, and now can only walk for short distances before “intense pain” sets in. Mr Robinson, from Watford, Hertfordshire, believes a false widow spider was responsible.

READ MORE:

He said: “The stinging pain almost became unbearable at times until I was given stronger pain killers and antibiotics.

“I can work but I am not able to walk very far without intense pain in that leg for quite a while.

“Life at home is very sedentary at the moment. It’s not easy to cope with being so immobile now and the pain can be relentless without the painkillers.

“It must be more than coincidence I had removed a large number of cobwebs from the house by hoover so I'm thinking I've disturbed a spider, and at some point, I got bitten. The worst it got was the weekend of May 10. That’s when I decided it was best to go to the hospital.

“Doctors diagnosed cellulitis due to infection of the bite. I was given a blood test and put on a saline drip, before I was released with painkillers and antibiotics.”

Known as Steatoda nobilis, false widows are not native to Britain and are thought to have arrived from the Canary Islands in banana boxes in the late 1800s before slowly spreading north.

The initially invasive species has stamped itself into the UK's ecology since it arrived more than 100 years ago, but maintains a controversial presence due to repeated reports of dangerous bites.

Keith hadn’t realised just how severe a spider bite could be in Britain. He has now advised others to be cautious around the noble false widow.

He said: “Avoid them – check all spiders in your house or outbuildings where they like to live and remove them if found. If you catch a bite or suspect one then go to hospital and get it checked out the same day.”

Researchers say the spiders only attack when provoked. In the case of false widows, this is typically when they are trapped against someone's skin.