A County Durham family have been left shocked and “on edge” after discovering a false widow spider in their bathroom – and worrying that more could follow.

After coming home from work on Tuesday (September 13), dad Spencer Foster, from Seaham, started to run a bath, before catching a glimpse of a ‘large’ spider in the corner of his bathroom.

Having initially dismissed it as a common ‘creepy-crawly’, the homeowner had a second look and saw that the eight-legged creature had a ‘skull’ pattern on, and its legs were larger than any other spider he’d seen before.

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“I initially felt a bit freaked out, I was running myself a bath and saw it on the window frame,” Mr Foster told The Northern Echo.

“I looked at it closely and it had strange markings on, which made me think it wasn’t a normal spider.

“I suppose people always mention all of these different types of ‘deadly’ spiders you can have in your house, and that makes it worse in a way.”

Faced with this mystery spider in his bathroom, the Seaham resident decided to take to social media to ask other people whether they’d had similar spiders in their houses and whether it was a false widow.

The Northern Echo: The black widow in the house in Seaham. Picture: SPENCER FOSTERThe black widow in the house in Seaham. Picture: SPENCER FOSTER (Image: SPENCER FOSTER)

Despite having many varied responses, many people believed that the spider was a false widow and told Mr Foster to not let it touch his skin and get rid of it in a cup.

According to the National History Museum, false widow spiders are common to the UK, and aren’t as deadly as the feared black widow spiders.

While false widow spiders are still venomous and can bite, most creatures won’t bite unless provoked, and most people will just be left with a small sore section.

However, since learning these facts, Mr Foster says that it is “little comfort” to his seven-year-old son, who is “petrified” of spiders or similar creatures.

“After discovering it is a false widow, it’s not comforting – my son is terrified of spiders,” he added.

“I managed to get the spider in a glass and put some cardboard on, but that’s not what is worrying me.

“This could be the mother spider, and other false widows could be hiding out in the house.

“It’s put us all on edge because the spiders tend to stick to dark places.”

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