'Britain's most dangerous spider' strikes in Surrey: Schoolboy, 11, rushed to hospital after bite from noble false widow sends him 'frenzied'

A schoolboy was rushed to hospital after a bite from 'Britain's most dangerous spider' left him delirious and unable to stand.

Matthew, 11, from Surrey, received an unwanted gift at Christmas when he was bitten on the back of the leg by a noble false widow.

Two days later he was 'delusional', unable to support his own weight and required hospital treatment.

Sarah, his mother, said: 'He was bitten on the back of his leg – his calf – on Christmas Day.

'It wasn't immediately clear what it was, but he said his leg hurt. I looked and it literally looked like a small scrape.

Matthew, 11, from Surrey, received an unwanted gift at Christmas when he was bitten on the back of the leg by a noble false widow

'On Boxing Day he said it still hurt so I looked again and a little scab was forming so I put some inadine on it to prevent infection.

'The next day he could no longer walk or bear weight.

'He was delusional and had a temperature of 39.7 degrees Celsius, his leg was red and cellulite was starting to form. I rushed him to the hospital.”

At the hospital, Matthew was given an intravenous course of antibiotics and warned that he may need surgery to have the poison removed.

He was back home the next day, but needed a course of eight tablets a day to treat his injury.

Sarah, who asked that their full names be withheld, said: “It will take a few weeks for clarification, possibly longer.

“My son said his leg felt like the skin was tearing because of the poison underneath.

'He doesn't have many memories of the day the disease spread because his temperature was so high.

'I was concerned he had sepsis so I rushed him to hospital.'

Sarah, his mother, said: 'He was bitten on the back of his leg – his calf – on Christmas Day. 'It wasn't immediately clear what it was, but he said his leg hurt. I looked and it literally looked like a small scrape.”

At the hospital, Matthew was given an intravenous course of antibiotics and warned that he may need surgery to have the poison removed

Matthew's parents think he was bitten in bed because that's the only place he doesn't wear pants.

Now they are speaking out to warn others to be wary of the invasive species.

Sarah said: 'If I can give any advice it would be to check clothes and beds.

'Check any outbuildings as you would normally find in garages and sheds – also check the cracks as they are quite small.

'The false widow spider has a design on its back/carapace that resembles a skull.'

She continued: 'Although we can see the punctures now, they were not visible when it happened.

'It looked like a scrape with a shiny appearance and a little wet.

“If you find a nest of these spiders, please call someone to help get rid of them.”

The noble false widow is “widely regarded as the most dangerous spider breeding species in Britain,” according to a 2020 article by Clive Hambler, a zoologist at the University of Oxford.

However, they are unlikely to attack unless provoked or trapped between clothing and skin.

The species – known as Steatoda nobilis – is not native to Britain and is believed to have arrived in banana boxes from the Canary Islands in the late 19th century, according to the Wildlife Trusts.

The species – known as Steatoda nobilis – is not native to Britain and is believed to have arrived in banana boxes from the Canary Islands in the late 19th century, according to the Wildlife Trusts.

THE NOBLE FALSE WIDOW SPIDER

In the photo: a noble false widow spider

Species name: Steatoda nobilis

Origin: the Canary Islands and Madeira

Range: Europe, Africa, America

Colour: Brown body, red/orange legs

Notable feature: Spherical belly

Size (female): 0.37–0.55″ (9.5–14mm)

Size (male): 0.28–0.43″ (7–11mm)

Habitat: Inside and outside

Lifespan: Average of five years

Venom: Latrodectus-like toxins

(Not to be confused with the black widow spider, from whose similarity the false widow got its common name.)