A British couple recently received an unexpected delivery after being shocked to discover a huge huntsman spider in their Amazon parcel.
Mark and Gemma Smith live on the Isle of Wight and had ordered some Christmas decorations from the online retail giant.
However, arachnophobe Gemma made the horrifying discovery on opening the packaging two days after delivery, and flung the 10cm wide spider - more commonly seen in Australia - across the room.
"I opened up the parcel and I said, 'Holy f***,'" the terrified 38 year-old said. "I literally chucked the box.
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"I didn't know if there were any more in there."
Mum of three Gemma, whose arachnophobia comes from finding a nest of spiders in her dad's house at the age of six, then called her husband Mark, who was in work at the time.
Mark commented: "I said, 'Do you know if it's alive?' but she did not know
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"She just said it was massive.
"I don't know where he package came from. It must have been alive when it got in there."
Huntsman spiders can't kill humans with their venom but they are known for their size and speed, and can cause a fair amount of pain if they do bite.
Thankfully for the couple, who had ordered the £32.99 set of three Light-Up Christmas Boxes, they found the spider dead in their conservatory, a couple of days later, and were able to dispose of it - although not before posting a photo of it to Facebook.
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"Poor arachnophobic
Gem opened a box from Amazon to find this huge spider inside," Mark wrote.
"Anyone know the species? It looks like a huntsman but I'm no spider expert. Whatever it is, it ain't from the UK."
He added: "Here's my favourite line from the huntsman spider wiki: 'They are able to travel extremely quickly, often using a springing jump while running, and walk on walls and even on ceilings.
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"'They also tend to exhibit a 'cling' reflex if picked up, making them difficult to shake off and much more likely to bite.'
"Better not tell Gem!"
Understandably people were intrigued as to how a huntsman had found itself thousands of miles from home. One Facebook user said: "If threatened, a huntsman spider will 'play dead', to avoid danger."
Another commented: "Better check the bin to make sure it's still there!"
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Meanwhile, another person replied: "Was the spider on the Black Friday deal list?"
Of course, given we're still in 2020, there is always a chance it could be the beginning of some sort of plague.
An Amazon spokesperson said: "We have contacted the customer to make things right."
Topics: Spider, UK News, Weird