Housewife too scared to sleep in her own bedroom after being bitten by false widow spider as she slept

Doctors think Alison Blackburn was bitten by UK's most venomous spider

Surgeons had to drain the poison from 49-year-old's foot after it ballooned

Ms Blackburn now sleeps on a sofa as she is afraid to return to bedroom

A housewife bitten by a false widow spider says she is now too scared to sleep in her own bedroom after she ended up in intensive care.

Alison Blackburn, 49, has been sleeping on her sofa as she is too terrified to return to the room where she was bitten by Britain’s most venous spider.

Surgeons had to drain the poison from her left foot after the attack, as her ankle ballooned and the pain spread to her pelvic area.



Terror: Alison Blackburn has been sleeping on her sofa as she is too terrified to return to the room where she was bitten by a false widow spider

Pain: Surgeons had to drain the poison from her left foot after the attack, as her ankle ballooned and the pain spread to her pelvic area

She had been asleep in her bedroom in Stood, Kent , in the early hours of January 10 when she was suddenly woken by a sharp pain in her stomach.

By 6am her partner Gary Pelatt, 50, noticed her foot was red, although it was not painful but within a few hours her foot and ankle had swollen so much she could not get her shoe on. She then visited her family doctor.

'By this time I was feeling very unwell,' said Ms Blackburn. 'I kept going hot and then cold. I was shivering and I was in a lot of pain.'



Recovery: Although Ms Blackburn is now back at home and recovering, she is sleeping on a sofa downstairs - too scared to return to the bedroom where the spider bit her

She was given a prescription, but the swelling became worse. By the evening she had a raging fever and began to hallucinate so Mr Pelatt called an ambulance and she was then taken to hospital.

Ms Blackburn was rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent where she was immediately admitted to intensive care and fed antibiotics through a drip.



She spent five days in intensive care and had an operation to drain the poison from her foot to reduce the swelling.



She said:'I was hallucinating things. I thought there was water running down all of the walls.

Swollen: Medical staff gave her antibiotics through a drip and allowed her home, but a rash and swelling developed and she had to be rushed back to the hospital by ambulance

'I was burning up and shaking and my heart murmur, which usually can't be heard, was noticed straight away by the paramedics.

'I felt so sick. I had pins and needles in my leg, it was throbbing. I was slurring my words. I had to have an operation to get rid of all the poison in my foot.

'It's been traumatic. People need to know how dangerous these spiders are - they can be lethal.'

After her operation doctors told the mother-of-one was that a false widow spider was likely to have bitten her.

Although she is now back at home and recovering, she is sleeping on a sofa downstairs - too scared to return to the bedroom where the spider bit her.



Ms Blackburn has fumigated her house and washed all her clothing and bedding in an attempt to get rid of the spider.

But 10 days after the bite she says she is still too terrified to go upstairs in her home.



'I'm still in shock and that spider is still around somewhere,' she said.



'Since coming out of hospital I'm terrified to even be in my own home.

'I can't go upstairs, I sleep on the sofa and I'm having to talk to someone about it because I'm petrified all the time.

'I can't leave the house in the day because of my leg, but I can't face being in the house either.'

The country was hit by a spate of false widow attacks at autumn and an expert has warned that there could be more bites reported in the next few weeks.

Bitten: The country was hit by a spate of false widow attacks last autumn, and an expert has warned that there could be more bites reported in the next few weeks

Dr John Tweddle, from the life sciences department at the Natural History Museum in London, said: 'There are two main species of false widow spider and they are around all year.

'The young reach maturity in September and October, which was why a number of attacks were reported then.



'But they have gone onto become adults and are still a threat.'

He said that Ms Blackburn was right to be concerned that she might be bitten again by the same spider.

Dr Tweddle said : 'Theoretically you can be bitten by the same spider twice.



'They can bite more than once. That is how they kill their prey, unlike bees. It is part of their feeding and defence system.'