World's largest venomous spider discovered in Yorkshire after travelling 5,000 miles across globe

The largest species of venomous spider in the world has been found in Yorkshire after getting into a shipping container that came from China.

The Huntsman spider had 12-inch long legs

The huge Huntsman spider made it 5,000 miles from eastern Asia to Hull, East Yorkshire.

The Huntsman spider, native to Australia, has 12-inch long legs, and terrified staff when it crawled out of the container, according to Metro.

Huntsman spiders rarely bite, and aren't deadly to humans if they do - but can still cause heart palpitations, vomiting and headaches.

The spider was eventually caught after officers from the RSPCA were called in, HullLive reports.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said the spider had given staff "quite a fright", and was now at a specialist rescue centre.

The spokesperson added: "He fancied a holiday so he hopped on a shipping container in China and ended up in Hull."

Both the UK and Ireland saw a rise in the amount of false widows found during 2021.

These are again, unlikely to bite, but symptoms can be severe if they do - including chest pains, burning sensations, severe discomfort and swelling, and numbness.

Two people nearly died after being bitten by false widows, and one woman had to be hospitalised three times.

However, ecologist Graeme Skinner previously told Metro false widows are "not aggressive", and any spider species native to the UK are "generally shy".

Reference: Yorkshire Lice