An infamous episode of British children’s cartoon Peppa Pig has again upset Australian viewers because of its message that spiders are "very, very small and they can't hurt you", after it was aired on pay television.

The episode, ‘Mister Skinny Legs’, written by Alison Snowden, is about a large spider, which an initially fearful Peppa befriends, before picking the giggling arachnid up, feeding him tea and cake and tucking him into bed in her doll house.

Peppa’s father tells her: “There’s no need to be afraid. Spiders are very, very small and they can’t hurt you.”

Australia has several species of extremely poisonous spiders and their bites can be deadly without antivenom treatment. In the UK, spiders are considered relatively harmless, however some spider bites, such as that of the false widow, can cause severe reactions. A Devon father-of-five almost died in 2016 after he was bitten in a holiday camp caravan.