A mother was shocked when she found what is believed to be a venomous spider in her pre-packed supermarket salad.
Dr Tanu Kapur, from Oadby, couldn't believe her eyes when the creature began rustling though her Asda Wild Rocket salad bag, which she had planned to use for the family's dinner that night.
Experts believe it is a false widow spider – the UK's most venomous arachnid.
After finding the spider, Dr Kapur telephoned the Oadby branch of Asda, where she had bought the rocket, to report the unexpected passenger.
However, she was left less than impressed with the initial response.
Dr Kapur said: "Just before opening it I noted a movement in the bag and stopped.
"There was a live spider inside the sealed bag of a variety I have not seen as household spider – it had a globular white body with black spots and short legs.
"I immediately called the local branch."
She said she was told the store manager wasn't available, but the person she spoke didn't express concern or offer any apologies.
She claimed the person said, "bring in the bag and we'll refund the £1 or call our head office".
Dr Kapur's son, Karan, 18, said: "We didn't know what it was at first, we thought it was a snail, because it was large and round, but then I saw the legs and realised it was a spider.
"We weren't sure what to do with it. If we let it into the garden it might breed, and then we'd have an army of them!"
The Mercury asked spider experts at Twycross Zoo to identify the creature.
Kevin Caley, research and conservation executive at the zoo, said: "We believe this is a false widow spider (steatoda nobilis).
"They can give quite a nasty bite, but reactions vary from person to person."
In February, it was reported in the Daily Mail that a man in Southampton collapsed after being bitten 10 times on the neck by a false widow.
Chris Galton, 31, was left with numerous 50 pence-sized red welts, and described feeling hot and nauseous, but made a full recovery.
The family have returned the bag, with the spider inside, to the store,
An Asda spokeswoman said once they had the spider a full investigation would be carried out to determine how it became trapped inside the bag.
She said: "All our salad is washed, but very occasionally a spider hangs around.
"We sincerely apologise for any distress caused by finding this spider and are happy to offer a refund on the salad.
"As soon as the product is returned to us we will investigate what has happened."
Source: www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk
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