A venomous Huntsman spider was found in a shipment of chairs which travelled almost 8,000km to East Anglia.

RSPCA inspector Jason Finch was called to a Southwold warehouse on Thursday, July 16, after the spider was discovered among a shipment which had travelled from China.

Mr Finch said: “He’d obviously been in the container for some time without access to food and water, but he was still active and seemed to be okay.

“Huntsman spiders can grow up to 30cm in leg span so are a large variety.

“This spider was on the smaller side and was only around 6cm from leg to leg.”

The spider was taken to a specialist facility to be cared for.

Mr Finch said: “Finding an exotic spider, insect or reptile in a shipping or removal container actually happens quite often.

“These creatures are often picked up by mistake and end up being shut inside containers or boxes.

“Huntsman spiders are venomous but are not dangerous to people, although they can give a nasty bite so we would always advise caution around them.

“We always advise treating any unidentified animal with caution until identified accurately and not to try to handle and accidentally imported animal that has been discovered.”

Huntsman spiders originate in parts of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and the Americas.

It would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release the spider, or allow it to escape, into the wild as the spider is not native to the UK.