A student was left seriously ill in hospital after being bitten by a venomous spider while on holiday in Wales.
Abby Tannetta, 18, was bitten while she slept during her holiday with a pal at her parents' caravan in May this year.
The teen woke up in agony with a pain under her arm before spotting a huge spider - thought to be a venomous false widow spider.
Within days, Abby was rushed into hospital where medics grew concerned she would catch potentially fatal sepsis.
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Abby, from Caerphilly, Wales, said: "I woke up with a sharp pain that woke me from my sleep, looked next to me and I just saw this giant spider running away from the bed.
"It was really sore and just got worse. It got bigger - it was very red, itchy and so sore that I couldn't move my arm or sleep on the side.
"I was feeling really dizzy and weak, I was boiling, and I felt like my heart was racing and the lump had grown even more to the size of a golf ball.
"I collapsed as the doctors were rushing me into surgery but thankfully they managed to do it - otherwise I could have got sepsis, which you can die from.
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"I was already really scared of spiders before this but now I'm too scared to even go back to the caravan and the sight of any tiny spider makes me feel sick and terrified."
Abby was able to capture the spider in a container and take a photo of it - she thinks it was most likely a false widow spider.
Whatever it was, it knocked Abby for six.
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Three days after being bitten, she was unable to sleep so visited her GP who gave her antibiotics and warned her to go to A&E if pus started to leak from the lump.
After waking up covered in blood and pus, Abby went straight to A&E.
She said: "By the time I went to A&E, I was feeling really awful, hot, weak and my blood pressure and heart rate were really high.
"The doctors said I needed surgery and I just looked at my mum in shock. I don't like blood or needles and I was really scared but they said it could turn into sepsis if we waited too long.
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"They put me on a drip straight away but as they were doing that, I had a panic attack and I fainted because I was just so ill and they couldn't get the drip in as I was so dehydrated and shaking.
"I couldn't breathe so I had an oxygen mask and I heard the doctors saying, 'Oh my god, she's really in a bad way,' as they rushed me into theatre."
Thankfully, the operation was a success and Abby was able to return home the next day.
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Abby said: "It's been difficult. I've been in such a lot of pain whilst recovering.
"The pain is a lot better now. After the surgery I felt like I'd been stabbed, but it has died down now and I'm just uncomfortable instead."
Featured Image Credit: SWNS