Mum’s horror after finding ‘black widow’ spider in a bunch of Tesco grapes

A mum terrified of spiders was stunned when she allegedly found a killer black widow spider in a box of grapes.

Kimberley Seymour, 33, got the fright of her life after finding a spider alive in a punnet of black seedless grapes she'd bought from her local Tesco and are believed to have come from Mexico.

Catherine Scott, a spider expert based at Canada's Toronto University, has confirmed it could be a juvenile black widow.

The deadly spider is North America's most poisonous spider - and its venom is a staggering 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's.

Shocked Miss Seymour, of Coddenham, near Ipswich, said: "I'm still feeling very shaken up by it.

"It had been in my fridge all week.

"I absolutely hate spiders.

"I just went into a frenzy when I saw it."

The mother-of-one had bought the fruit at Tesco's Copdock store a week last Sunday but they sat in her fridge until Monday.

She opened the grapes to give her daughter Phoebe, nine, a healthy treat as she was off school with chicken pox.

But found cobwebs all over the fruit - and a spider lurking in the corner.

After spotting distinctive red markings on the spider's back the scared stiff mum tried to alert the RSPCA.

She had no luck so called her local vet's in Debenham.

Practice manager Jade Martin said Miss Seymour took along the deadly spider in a lunch box.

Mrs Martin said: "We contacted Suffolk Wildlife Trust and they told us it could be a black widow.

"No-one could be 100% sure though.

"It is not the sort of creature you see every day."

The spider's now been handed over alive to senior staff at Tesco's Copdock supermarket after the astonishing drama.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We sell over a million bunches of grapes every week and our growers work hard to clean and inspect all the fruit carefully.

"So it's extremely rare to find any unwelcome guests.

"We are investigating the complaint with our supplier and we'll update the customer with our findings."

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