Every spider has his day: Court visitor hands tarantula to security staff before passing through scanner

Court security guards are used to searching visitors and occasionally confiscating weapons.

But they got a nasty shock when they patted down one gentleman and discovered that he was carrying something far more frightening.

Startled guards found that he was trying to bring a deadly poisonous spider into court.

The Togo Starburst was discovered when the man was about to go through the scanners

Security staff at Canterbury Crown Court, Kent, were searching the unnamed man when they found the Togo Starburst spider.

The man, who was in his 20s, had just bought the arachnid from an exotic pet store for £1,700 before coming to support a friend who was up in court.

One security guard, who did not want to be named, said: 'We have handled many unusual items in my time here, but this was the most weird.

'We have taken away knives and other weapons, even drugs - but a tarantula?



The man explained to the startled guards when he visited Canterbury Crown Court that he ha just bought the spider

'We always ask people to place personal items in a tray, which usually includes mobile phones, wallets, cigarettes and lighters.

'But this man placed a glass container on one of the trays and when I asked him what it was he told me it was a tarantula and one bite could prove very nasty.

'I thought he was just winding me up - but when I saw it I realised he was not joking.

'He told me he had just come from a shop selling exotic animals and had bought the spider.

'He did not think there would be any objection if he brought it to court for the day.'

The man told the guards that he collected spiders, and his mother was too frightened to visit him because of his hoard of eight-legged friends, Kent Online reported.



The Togo Starburst spider comes from West Africa, has a strong venom and can inflict a painful bite.

Fully grown, they're about 4 1/2-5 inches in legspan.

All tarantulas can produce silk—while arboreal species will typically reside in a silken 'tube tent', terrestrial species will line their burrows with silk to stabilize the burrow wall and facilitate climbing up and down.

