Britain's most dangerous spider strikes again: Man is hospitalised with flesh–eating bite 'the size of a bowling ball' as experts warn false widows are rapidly spreading across the UK
A man was left hospitalised with a flesh–eating infection after a 'pinprick' false widow spider bite left him with a hand 'the size of a bowling ball'. Reports this week from BBC Countryfile said the false widow is 'rapidly spreading its legs across Britain' after a 'rapid expansion across the world'. 'Some people are hypothesising that it could have been a false widow spider but in reality, we don't know.' 'They said it was a spider bite, very rare at this time of year but they gave me antibiotics.' He said: 'Just a day later my whole hand swelled up like a boxing glove.
Source: Daily Mail March 09, 2026 14:19 UTC
