ARACHNOPHOBES look away now, as some rather large-looking, and quite scary spiders have been spotted in Bridgwater.

But local experts say the creatures are not dangerous and want to reassure people not to be alarmed if they see one.

Bridgwater resident Susan Harvey spotted these two on her property - the brown spider on the left arrived this week, while the black spider on the right has been living in her garden for some time.

Francis Farr-Cox, a local spider expert and member of the British Arachnological Society, gave us the low down on these creatures.

“The brown spider is a House Spider, which are common and found all over the UK,” Francis said.

“They can grow quite large, and the reason this one might have been found is that House Spiders can be adult at this time of year.

“So when the males reach adulthood, they leave the webs to find females, and this is when people generally see them.

“No UK spider is considered dangerous and in fact, house spiders wouldn’t be able to see us.

“Their eyesight is bad (only able to distinguish between light and darkness) and they find prey/mates by vibrations, scent, pheromones etc.”

The black spider spotted in Susan’s home was identified as a Tube Spider, a species with a rather interesting history.

Francis said: “Tube Spiders used to have a restricted distribution, confined mainly to old South West ports such as Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth.

“In the last 20 years, they have spread across the south, but it is not known why, or how.

“They can now be found in towns like Bridgwater, Burnham, Wellington, Taunton.

“They are the largest UK spider by body length, and can be found outside, living in holes in walls.

“While these spiders aren’t harmful, they are strong enough to bite, so it’s not recommended to pick them up with bare hands.

“If people do get spiders in their house, the classic ‘cup and piece of card manoeuvre’, and taking the spider outside will usually do the trick.”