James Moorhouse
Spring has nearly sprung in the UK, but the vast majority of us are thinking about holidaying in Spain, rather than the other way around.
However, one particularly large venomous spider has opted to swap Spain for Sussex after arriving in the UK alongside an olive shipment from Cordoba recently. At least it was only one, rather than the 1000s that were set free by a zoo last year.
The eight-legged animal, which has since been identified as 'Europe's largest' was first spotted by a nursery owner in West Sussex, who did not wish to be named. It truly is massive, so you can't blame them for not trying to catch it using the viral spider-catcher from Tik Tok.
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Speaking to Pen News, they said: 'My son, who was driving the forklift, saw it when he drove past. He just saw it out of the corner of his eye walking slowly across the yard.
"He rang me and said there's something big just walked across the yard and under a pot.
"It came in on a batch of olives we bought from a place near Cordoba. I had two truckloads of them and after we unloaded, it was walking across the yard slowly." Fair play to that lad for staying so calm, I don't think I'd be so calm about a creepy-crawly of that size.
After an image of the spider was shared with arachnologists on Facebook, they were told it was a Spanish funnel-web spider, or Macrothele calpeiana.
British Arachnological Society classified the species as Europe's largest back in 1989, but that hasn't fazed Jack Casson, a spider enthusiast from Hartlepool who has taken her in. If the spider did come to the UK for a change in climate, she certainly won't see much sun in the north east.
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Jack said: "The spider looks to be female, is settling in very well and has already started webbing up her enclosure to make herself feel at home.
"She has a huge appetite, having eaten five crickets since I took her in. My girlfriend has named her Bessie.
"The spider is venomous but isn't medically significant – meaning it can't kill humans.
"Although I bet a bite would hurt a lot, I don't plan on finding out either way."
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So, if you've purchased any olives from Spain recently, it might be worth keeping an eye out for the funnel-web spider as an unwelcome addition to your order.