In a shocking case, a father-of-two revealed that he fell seriously ill after being bitten by a false widow spider, leading him to having his leg amputated.
Andy Perry, 46, is believed to be the first Brit to lose an entire leg from a spider bite, after he almost died when the creature sank its fangs into his ankle.
Perry had been working in Leicestershire when he fell ill with severe back pain just 48 hours after a fencing job.
Perry was unaware he had been bitten by Britain's most venomous spider until he was rushed to hospital suffering from sepsis and kidney failure.
Perry went on to receive emergency care and over the next few weeks the infection subsided but he was left with lymphedema - a painful and debilitating swelling of the leg, which left his skin falling off.
He said the pain got so bad that he even considered chopping off his own leg with a chainsaw.
Following several appointments with specialists, Perry opted for an elective amputation above his right knee, which was carried out in March.
He has now been left wheel-chair bound, unable to work or play with his children and needs daily treatment.
Experts believed the false widow spider was to blame after daily blood test when a phlebotomist noticed two puncture marks on Andy's ankle.
The doctor in charge deemed the bite to be from the false widow spider - as its bite has similar effects that Perry was experiencing.
The UK has seen a rise in false widow spiders - dubbed Britain's most venomous spider - in the past four years, believed to be caused by an increase in climate.
