Bite from tiny spider led to man seemingly losing his dignity

Ian Moon of Greater Leys, Oxford, was told a swelling the size of his fist on his leg was caused by a tiny spider. He found the lump after mowing his lawn, but it was only when he went to see a GP at Leys Health Centre he was told the trouble was caused by a spider.

Mr Moon had to go to the John Radcliffe Hospital to have his swelling lanced, drained and packed, and is now going back daily to have it treated. The 53-year-old, who lives with his partner and 11-year-old son, said: “When he saw the hole I think he almost passed out.



“I was just cutting the grass – I didn’t feel anything. I had a couple of beers in the evening, chilled out and went to bed, then I woke up with this big red lump on my leg. It was painful and now it’s just irritating, but I can’t scratch it.”

Mr Moon said he also heard that one of his neighbours had reported a similar swelling which doctors told him was a spider bite. Several UK spiders can deliver a painful bite, but the most common culprit is the so-called false widow, Steatoda nobilis, the UK’s most venomous spider.