An Australian woman has told of her terror when she returned home to find a giant huntsman spider lurking on the ceiling of her living room.

Laree Clarke immediately turned to social media and pleaded for help on how to remove the creepy arachnid without disturbing it.

She posted a picture of the spider to Facebook and included the caption: "Is there anyone that could remove this from my house?? I don’t have a container that big!"

Laree, from Townsville, Australia, added: "When I went near it with the phone light it came at me raising it fangs and legs. Hell nahhhh!"

(Image: Facebook)

Social media users expressed their horror at the sighting.

One person said: "It's probably easier to burn your house down at this point."

"Kill it with fire", another added.

Another jokingly said the spider was so large that Laree could make it "pay rent".

Huntsman spiders - which live all around the world - are known for their enormous size and can grow to a leg span size of 10 to 12 inches.

(Image: Facebook)

They often venture into Australian homes in a bid to find prey to eat.

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The large and hairy huntsman spiders are, despite their appearance, not considered dangerous.

They are venomous and can cause pain with their bites, but experts say they are reluctant to attack and would rather scamper away when feeling threatened.

(Image: Facebook)

In 2017, a family were horrified to discover a massive Hunstsman hitched a ride in their luggage all the way from from Australia.

It was found in a shipping container full of the family's belongings.

The giant 18cm arachnid had hitched a ride from Brisbane to Merstham in Redhill, Surrey - a journey of around 10,000 miles - and was found among cases at a removals company.