Lorry driver left with massive gaping hole in his hand after he was bitten by a false widow spider

WIDOW MAKER Lorry driver left with massive gaping hole in his hand after he was bitten by a false widow spider --- WARNING GRAPHIC *** A LORRY driver was left with this massive gaping hole in his hand after he was bitten – by a venomous false widow SPIDER. Arachnophobe Chris Whittock, 57, was folding tables at an agricultural show when the eight-legged beast sunk its fangs into his skin. At first, the married dad wasn’t worried when red marks appeared on his left hand, right thumb and knees. But over the next three days, the bite on his hand began to swell and eventually he was left with an itchy, painful golf ball sized lump. Chris took himself to hospital, where he was placed on an IV drip and given a course of antibiotics. He was kept in for four days, during which time doctors sliced open the swelling on the back of his hand to remove a build up of fluid. It left a giant, gaping hole in his hand which Chris believes was caused by a violent allergic reaction to the spider’s poison. He claims when he first saw it, he passed out. Chris, who lives with wife Susie, 59, in Frome, Somerset, said: “If you aren’t scared of spiders you ought to be now. Chris was bitten on Saturday, September 17 while packing up tables at the West Woodlands showground in Frome. Two weeks later, his hand remains in a bandage and he’s not able to work. Chris went to A&E at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, Somerset, last Friday, where doctors said he had “definitely been bitten”. The HGV driver, who will need to stay off work for the next two weeks, said: “They lanced open this big lump and washed out whatever was inside. False widow spiders, which usually grow to the size of a 20p coin, have dark, shiny bodies with orange legs and pale markings. They pack a poisonous, painful bite which can trigger serious allergic reactions and are considered to be the most venomous spiders in Britain. It is believed that the false widows arrived in Britain in the 1990s, in bunches of bananas being being shipped over from Madeira and the Canary Islands. Sightings of the species have increased in recent years due to a string of warm winters and generally peak in September as males seek females to breed with. | The Sun via IFTTT

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