Man ‘finds world’s most venomous spider’ in Sainsbury’s bananas

A man claims he has found the world's most venomous spider inside a bunch of bananas from Sainsbury’s.

Joe Stein, 37, bought the fruit, grown in Colombia, from the supermarket in West Wickham on Monday.

But when he opened the bag the following day, he discovered a two inch "dark mass" hanging from the bananas - and was terrified to see it twitch.

He intially threw the bag into the bin outside but after steadying his nerves, retrieved it, and looked up the specimen.

Joe then discovered it appeared to be a venomous Brazilian wandering spider.

Joe, from Beckenham, Kent, said: "Opened the bag, everything fine, turned the bananas over and all I saw was this huge dark mass hanging on to the bananas.

"It was a spider and it started to move so I shouted to my girlfriend 'don’t come in the kitchen!'"

Ater retrieivng the spider, Joe added: "I emptied the whole bag into a plastic box, and as soon as it fell out I put lid on it and I could tell it wasn’t moving.

"We Googled it and it looks 99% like the wandering spider."

The Brazilian wandering spider, or Phoneutria fera, is commonly found in South America on banana leaves or bunches.

Also known as the banana spider, they gain their name from the habit of moving across jungle floors at night in search of food.

The Guinness Book of World Records has named it the most venomous spider for possessing the most active neurotoxic venom of any living spider.

Their venom is toxic to the nervous system, causing symptoms such as salivation and an irregular heartbeat.

The venom can also be known to cause a long, painful erection to human males.

Stepdad-of-one Joe added: "I saw a few pictures, it looked identical; the big hairy legs, the big abdomen with the little humps coming out and a black line.

"I was a bit shocked to find out it's one of the most venomous and dangerous spiders in the world."

Joe and girlfriend Natasha Gooda, 39, contacted Sainsbury's who told them to send the spider for further investigation.

The bananas are in the bin, but the spider remains in a plastic wrapper outside their home.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We’re in touch with the customer to apologise for their experience.

"Incidents like this are extremely rare and we have processes in place to prevent them.”

Watch: Tiny Spider Swept Away as It Shoots Web Into Wind