A woman says her local bus stop has become one of the most dangerous in Britain after being infested with venomous false widow spiders.
Disabled Helen Day, 39, says she has seen at least five of them and fears more will arrive as they breed.
The 50p-sized spiders – a cousin to the black widow – are identifiable by the distinct skull-like markings on their abdomen.
They are Britain’s most venomous species and deliver a painful bite though they are not particularly aggressive. So far the number of fatalities in the UK due to their bites is zero, though several people die each year due to an allergic reaction to bee or wasp stings.
Helen says the bus stop in tiny Felton, near Bristol Airport, is covered with spider webs and riddled with nests.
Most of the people that use the stop are elderly or disabled and Helen said she feared that someone will be bitten.
She said: “If anybody goes into the shelter it only takes one to jump onto a rucksack.
“In the heat, they’re only going to get worse. They breed like wildfire.
“I’m petrified of spiders. I’m on crutches so I can’t stand for long or sit for long.
“I’m happy to pay for it if the council doesn’t do anything. I’ve already spoken to a pest controller.”
The bus stop was previously run by FirstGroup but is now controlled by North Somerset Council as a community service.
A North Somerset Council community response officer visited the bus stop on Tuesday (July 18) morning to carry out an inspection.
Helen said they told her that the spiders “would only bite if they were provoked”.
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