A family have been left terrified after fearing one the world's deadliest spiders has taken residence in their home after entering Britain in a bunch of bananas.

Michaela Egan, 24, from Rainham, Essex, noticed a suspicious white spider cocoon on a bunch she bought had from her local Tesco four days earlier and took a picture of it.

She posted the image on her Facebook page and friends suggested it could be a Brazilian wandering spider, whose venom gives male victims a painful four-hour erection before killing them.

Michaela Egan, with her boyfriend William Osborne and children Ella-Mae, five, and one-year-old George, left, has been left terrified after discovering a suspicious white spider cocoon on a bunch of bananas, right

The mother-of-two immediately put it in a sealed bag and returned it to the Rainham store where staff offered her a full refund before sending the banana off to be tested.

But Ms Egan, who has a daughter Ella-Mae, five, and one-year-old son, George, is concerned the spider may have laid eggs and baby spiders could have hatched in her home.

She said: 'I just couldn't believe it when I saw it. I knew It was some sort of spider because of the webbing.

'I started to get really freaked out when everyone was posting pictures and stories of the Brazilian wandering spider.

'It just looked like a brown bulge under the webbing but everyone was saying that's what it was.'

The full-time mother, who lives with her postman boyfriend William Osborne, 26, added that she could have easily handed the banana to her daughter for her packed lunch.

'The banana had been there for four days so anything could have happened, I'm really scared they're in the house.'

A spokesperson for Tesco said: 'We set ourselves the highest standards for the quality of our produce.

The Brazilian wandering spider's bite is said to give male victims a four-hour erection before they are killed

Michaela Egan with her two children. She said she could have easily given it to one of them for their lunch

'Our customer service team are investigating this inquiry and will be in touch with Ms Egan as soon as possible.'

It comes just days after a mother-of-four was cutting up a banana for her children when she too found a 'white pouch' on a Tesco-bought bunch.

Laura Horsfield, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, poured boiling water over the apparent nest to kill any potential spiders from hatching.

The Brazilian wandering spider is known for building webbed nests on bananas and according to Guinness World Records, they are the most venomous arachnid on the planet.

The spiders got their name because they are known to wander the jungle floor at night, rather than residing in a lair or maintaining a web.

During the day they hide inside termite mounds, under fallen logs and rocks, and in banana plants.

Although the Brazilian wandering spider venom is the most toxic - with death occurring within two hours of a bite - an effective anti-venom is available and few fatalities occur.

Its venom is currently being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments after it was found that a bite from one of the spiders can give male victims a painful four-hour erection.

Jamie Robins, a conservation officer for wildlife charity Buglife, said Brazilian wandering spider nests are normally the size of half a snooker ball.