Chinese Huntsman spider which can grow to be largest in world captured in lunchbox inside Yorkshire shipping container

Staff at a logistics firm on the Kingston International Business Park shied away from tackling the huntsman spider, which was seeking out warmth after travelling to the UK.

They contacted Port Environmental Health for advice and the RSPCA was called out to remove the eight-eyed creature, which was sheltering on the inner wall of the storage vessel.

Inspector Beth Boyd used a tupperware container she had to hand to catch the male spider, who has been named Rolf and is now in the care of an exotic animal rescue centre.

Beth recalled: “The docks staff were half way through unpacking the container when they saw it - apparently they all refused to go back into the yard.

“When I got there they were all waiting for me to remove him, although the only time I’ve dealt with a spider like this was a tarantula as part of my training. I’ve never come across something like this before at work.

“But he was quite docile and he wasn’t moving around, probably because it was so cold. I put the tupperware onto the container wall and encouraged him into it.

“When he was settled I put it in the footwell of my van, so he could warm up.”

Huntsmen are members of the Sparassidae family of spiders.

They are considered to be the world’s largest spider by leg span, which can reach around 11 inches when fully grown.

The arrival in Humberside is a juvenile, measuring between three and four inches.

Found in warm temperate and tropical regions, including Asia and Australia, huntsman spiders are venomous but aren’t dangerous to people, although they can give a nasty bite, so the RSPCA would always advise caution around them.

Beth, who carried out the spider rescue on February 18, said: “I contacted Reptilia, a specialist rescue centre in Yorkshire, and they said people do keep huntsman spiders as pets and that they do get calls about them.

“They think it’s a baby as he’s half the size they grow to on average.

“It’s probably one of the most unusual jobs I’ve done - I’ve not been called out to collect a spider before.

“It was a bit of a challenge, but in truth he didn’t put up a fight!”

The RSPCA always advises treating any unidentified animal with caution until identified accurately and not to try to handle an accidentally-imported animal that has been discovered. As these spiders are not native to the UK it would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release them, or to allow them to escape into the wild.

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