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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Nia Price & Charlie Duffield

Man terrified after discovering 'Britain's biggest spider' lurking in his house

A man has been left terrified after finding the "biggest spider" in Britain lurking in his house.

He was so scared that he has now been forced to eat his dinner upstairs, until the creepy crawly is caught.

Scott Elwood had just returned from holiday in Greece when his mum Helen revealed an unwanted house guest in their living room.

The 24-year-old, and his 19-year-old brother Mason Stott, alongside their stepdad Dean Stackhouse tried to join forces and made it their "mission" to locate the "horrible" critter.

They searched high and low for 30 minutes before finding a webbed lair in the skirting board nearby to their dining table.

Antique restorer Dean then used a toothpick to try and find out if the spider was at "home".

Scott, who "hates creepy crawlies", said he was horrified to see the biggest spider he'd ever seen emerge, which he estimates to be about the size of his palm when fully stretched out.

Footage captured by manual labourer Mason shows Dean twirling a toothpick in a spider's web before the spider's long dangly legs come into view and the massive arachnid darts out.

Scott was terrified after discovering the 'biggest spider in Britain' lurking in his house (Kennedy News and Media)

Someone can then be heard saying, "oh my God that is evil" before proclaiming "wow, look how big that f****r is, it's f*****g massive that...Jesus."

A "squeamish" Scott shared his brother's shocking footage online where it's amassed more than eight million views.

Although he's now too afraid to eat his tea in their living room, given the spider is now "famous" he said that it "deserves to live on" and is hoping to eventually release it outdoors.

Scott from Oldham, Greater Manchester, said: "It could potentially be the biggest spider in Britain.

"That was the biggest spider I've ever seen, anywhere, especially in my house. I'd say it's the size of your palm when it's stretched out.

"It was horrific seeing that in my house. I was terrified when I saw it and still terrified to this day.

"I absolutely hate them. Creepy crawlies and anything with that may legs are just horrible."

Mason, who recorded the footage added: "I was shocked to see the spider. I was pretty scared and didn't want to go near it."

Scott said he's had a long-standing fear of spiders ever since finding a big one in his bed.

He added: "I'd just come back from holiday in Greece. My mum knows I hate spiders and the day I got back she said to me 'there's a horrible spider living in the living room'.

"And I made it my mission that night with my stepdad and brother to find the spider.

"We spent half an hour searching the living room and we finally found it in that little hole.

"We just wanted to see if it was actually in the hole, we didn't know if that was it's home or not.

"My step dad baited it with a toothpick and it was absolutely horrific watching it come out the way it does.

"I was the most scared. I was standing behind Mason, we didn't want to go anywhere near it."

The 24-year-old, along with 19-year-old brother Mason Stott and their stepdad Dean Stackhouse, decided to join forces and made it their 'mission' to track down the 'horrible' critter (Kennedy News and Media)

Scott said that the creepy crawly has set up camp right next to the table where the family have their tea.

Scott said: "I do hate spiders. It was my stepdad holding the tooth pick, I couldn't hold that, I would have run away as soon as it came out of the hole.

"I've not seen a video like that before where someone's baited a spider out with a toothpick - you've got to have some big balls to do that.

"When my mum first told me about it and I knew there was a creepy crawly in the house, I got all squeamish and every time I walk through the room I can't stop flicking my head around from left to right at every bloody wall.

"At night it's even worse - you're going in there with a flashlight on.

"I eat my tea upstairs. I won't be eating my food in there again until it's found and taken away from the living room, I'll tell you that."

A terrified Scott said that he hasn't seen the spider since the video was recorded.

Scott said: "If I'm honest, I don't know what to do next.

"We're waiting until the next time we see it and from there we'll just decide and make a plan as a family as to how we're going to deal with this thing.

"I definitely should have named it. What's a good name for a spider? I think it's Evel Knievel at this point, something evil.

"I think catching it and releasing it would be the best thing to do.

"If it's grown that big it's definitely been alive for a long time, I don't want to be the one that ends it's life. I think it deserves to live on."

He shared the video on TikTok where it's amassed more than 657,000 likes and comments.

One said: ""what is going on in the UK????????"

Another added: "I'd give him my house keys and move out."

A third said: "The fact that you see it's eyes reflecting."

One Harry Potter fan commented: "It's Aragog."

A fourth wrote: "Mateeee he's using a tooth pick!!! I'd be using a broom handle."

Another remarked: "Where's the hoover; get the HOOVER!!!"

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