The deadly false widow spider
AFTER reports of a false widow spider invasion in Nottinghamshire, it has now been reported that a woman in Hampshire has died after being bitten.
According to an expert, it is possible the deadly arachnids will now creep steadily towards Notts. In recent weeks there has been a number of readers contacting the Post to report possible sightings. Investigations are now under way to see if this is the first person to die in the UK from a spider bite.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Pat Gough-Irwin, 60, was bitten by a false widow spider on the tip of her finger in her home in Aldershot, Hampshire. According to her family, Ms Gough-Irwin had to have the top of her finger amputated due to being in “absolute agony”, before her health deteriorated. She died in hospital on Friday.
Speaking to the Post previously, Dr Christopher Terrell-Nield, an entomologist at Nottingham Trent University, said that it is only a matter of time before one is found in Notts.
“The spiders travel slowly a few miles a year but we do get outliers,” he said. “Nobody really knows why they are coming north. They started moving quite suddenly.”
Dr Terrell-Nield said the spider’s bite was so sore because of the way spider poison acts within the body. He said: “They cause tissue to break down.
“The chemicals dissolve cells and that can lead to a painful swelling that can last a week.”
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