Man Left With Hole In His Leg After Britain's Most Venomous Spider Bit Him

When it comes to spiders there often seems to be the same conclusion: fuck 'em.

They cause unnecessary stress - some are deadly, others are harmless but look ridiculously scary. And then there are movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, which show off massive ones that do nothing for the perception of the creepy crawlies.

And lo and behold, there's yet another reason to want to stamp all over them.

A 31-year-old man now has a hole in his leg after he was bitten by Britain's most venomous arachnid, the false black widow.

spider bite

Credit: SWNS

Matt Clarke was unable to walk because of the bite, which exposed the muscles in his legs, having originally thought nothing of it.

The British soldier reportedly woke up one night after feeling a 'tingling sensation' in his leg, discovering a small brown spider had nibbled at him. He simply brushed the creature off his leg and went back to sleep.

A few days later, however, Matt was in agony as the wound opened and hot pus ran down his leg.

"I've been in the Army for ten years, I've been all over the world and slept next to more dangerous spiders and never got bit," Matt said. "But I got bit in my own bed."

Credit: SWNS

The pain became so bad that he had to find a way to get to A&E.

"I just felt this dripping down my leg and it was a painful type of burning sensation.

"I then checked it out and the bite area had burst open - it was a hole I could see my muscles through.

"I couldn't understand why the bite wasn't healing so I tried to find answers.

"I researched spiders and my symptoms, and I realised I had been bitten by a false black widow.

spider bite

Credit: SWNS

Thankfully, a false black widow's bite isn't fatal, unlike a normal black widow's, which can kill within hours. The false's is allegedly similar to that of a wasp or bee sting, though is toxic.

If you think you may have been bitten by a false widow, get to your GP. But before doing so make sure to wash it as to avoid infection, as well as covering the area with a plaster so you don't scratch it or allow bacteria to get into it.

Topics: Spider, bite

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.