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BANANADRAMA

Swarm of deadly Brazilian wandering spiders crawl out of Asda bananas forcing mum to flee her home

Gemma Price, 30, covered in hundreds of the killer creatures after egg sac breaks

A MUM was forced to flee her home in terror when hundreds of the world's most venomous spiders burst from a bunch of bananas.

Gemma Price, 30, found the creatures suddenly crawling across her hands, arms and down her pyjamas while peeling one of the fruits.

 Mum Gemma Price was forced to flee her home with seven-month-old son Leo after finding swarm of deadly spiders in bunch of bananas
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Mum Gemma Price was forced to flee her home with seven-month-old son Leo after finding swarm of deadly spiders in bunch of bananasCredit: North News and Pictures
 Gemma found the creatures suddenly crawling across her hands, arms and down her pyjamas when an egg sac burst
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Gemma found the creatures suddenly crawling across her hands, arms and down her pyjamas when an egg sac burstCredit: North News and Pictures
 Gemma was told to get out of her house as soon as possible when she called 999
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Gemma was told to get out of her house as soon as possible when she called 999Credit: North News and Pictures

She screamed in horror as she hurled it onto her bed.

The critters - later identified as Brazilian wandering spiders which can kill an adult in two hours - also swarmed over her bedclothes and into her son's cot.

She called 999 and was told to get out of the property as quickly as possible.

She grabbed seven-month-old son Leo and sprinted across the road to where her mum lives.

Pest control experts were called in and sprayed the property but it was three days before Gemma was allowed back.

She said: "I bought some loose bananas from Asda and the next day when I came home from the gym I picked one off the bunch and went upstairs.

"As I peeled the banana a white egg sac broke and hundreds of little spiders were crawling on my hands and arms and down my pyjamas.

"I was freaking out and screaming and trying to kill as many as I could.

I didn't know at the time how dangerous they were.

 Gemma told how she bundled up son Leo and raced to her mum’s house across the road
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Gemma told how she bundled up son Leo and raced to her mum’s house across the roadCredit: Ben Lack
 Gemma told of her terror after some of the hundreds of spiders found their way into her son Leo’s cot
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Gemma told of her terror after some of the hundreds of spiders found their way into her son Leo’s cotCredit: North News and Pictures

"Some got into my baby Leo's cot. I quickly picked him up and called 999.

"I was absolutely terrified. I have been bitten by a tropical spider before at work, a false widow spider, and I ended up in hospital so I knew they came from bananas.

"It sends shivers down my spine thinking my son could have been bitten which might have been a totally different outcome."

Chef Gemma, of Stanley, County Durham, bought the bananas at the town's Asda store on Monday last week.

Brazilian wandering spiders, which can have a leg span of nearly six inches, have been listed by Guinness World Records as the most venomous on the planet.

 Chef Gemma bought the bananas at a branch of Asda in Stanley, County Durham
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Chef Gemma bought the bananas at a branch of Asda in Stanley, County DurhamCredit: North News and Pictures
 Brazilian wandering spiders are the planet’s most deadly and can kill an adult in two hours
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Brazilian wandering spiders are the planet’s most deadly and can kill an adult in two hoursCredit: Getty Images

One of the bizarre side-effects in men who are bitten is a painful, four-hour erection before they drop dead.

Other symptoms include loss of muscle control, severe pain, difficulty breathing and if the victim is not treated with anti-venom, death due to oxygen deprivation.

Single mum Gemma claimed that when she contacted Asda she was told there wasn't much they could do.

The firm later sent round pest control experts who sprayed her house.

An Asda spokesperson said: “We sell around one billion bananas every year and each and every one is washed, sprayed and manually checked for quality and stowaways before being transported to the UK.

"Incidents like these are extremely rare, but we understand how upsetting it must have been for Ms Price and we are in contact with her to find a resolution.

"We'd like to reassure all our customers that the chance of finding a spider is incredibly low and it’s even less likely that a tropical spider could survive outside of their warm climate."


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