I made a horrific discovery in my luggage after flying home from Africa, it was terrifying
A TERRIFIED traveller found a huntsman spider in their luggage after returning from a trip to Africa.
The Edinburgh resident discovered the adventurous arachnid at their home in the Granton area of the city when they were unpacking in their suitcase after returning from a work placement.
They managed to coax the stowaway from their suitcase into an air-tight plastic box before alerting animal rescuers.
The Scottish SPCA later identified the 10cm beastie as an African huntsman known for their speed and their ability to jump.
SSPCA animal rescue officer, Catherine Atterton, said they were glad the member of the public "contained" the spider as they are known "for their speed and their ability to jump."
She continued: “Thankfully the spider was none the worse for wear after their long journey and was taken to one of our animal rescue and rehoming centres to quarantine."
The huntsman will be taken to a specialist rescue centre in Kent so that it can happily live out the rest of its days.
She added: “We know a lot of people find spiders frightening but, to the Scottish SPCA, they’re just another animal who needs our help."
The spider breed is known to biggest in the world with the largest-ever documented Giant Huntsman has a recorded leg-span of 30cm (12 inch) and was found in a cave in Laos.
Previously, a frightened shopper found a giant huntsman spider lurking in his bunch of Tesco bananas.
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Craig Harrison, 35, scoffed one banana before spotting the female huntsman — and its bulging 200-egg sac.
Craig, of Windsor, Berks, told The Sun: “Initially, I was just in shock. I stumbled backwards and lost my balance.”
He grew more appalled when he noticed the “scary and evil-looking” beast carrying its egg sac, which can contain up to 200 babies.
He is now fighting the supermarket for more compensation, adding: “I didn’t think I was scared of spiders until this but it turns out I might have developed something.”
But a self-confessed spider freak told how she’s on a mission to make everyone fall in love with the creepy crawlies.
Maddy Major, 19, is so hooked on the critters that she lets them clamber all over her face.
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