Man left with gaping hole on leg after getting bitten by Britain's most venomous spider

A 31-year-old British man, Matt Clarke, was left with a gaping hole on his leg after getting bitten by a ‘false widow’, Britain’s most deadly spider.

The wound was so deep it exposed Clarke’s muscles.

Discovered in Torquay, Devon, in 1879, the false widow is believed to have been a stowaway on a shipment of bananas from Madeira or the Canary Islands, reports The Coverage.

Clarke, a soldier of more than 10 years, was apparently bitten in his own bed.

According to Clarke, he had woke up one day with a ‘tingly sensation’ not unlike getting bitten by a common brown spider.

He brushed the arachnid off his leg and dismissed the bite.

It was the biggest mistake.

A few days later,  the wound on his leg burst, with hot pus dripping down his leg, causing him agony beyond words.

The wound was so big and so deep he could see his muscles. 

The unbearable pain forced him to seek treatment at the Accident and Emergency department (A&E).

Said Clarke:

“I just felt this dripping down my leg and it was a painful type of burning sensation. 

"I then checked it out and the bite area had burst open – it was a hole I could see my muscles through.

“I couldn’t understand why the bite wasn’t healing so I tried to find answers. 

“I researched spiders and my symptoms and I realised I had been bitten by a ‘false black widow’.”

Spider experts say that the bite from the false widow feels like nothing more than a bee or wasp sting, but is extremely toxic, and has to be monitored for infection.