GETTY A record number of daddy long legs are swarming across Britain

Climate change and a perfect storm of weather conditions has led to record numbers of the terrifying insects - also known as crane flies - taking flight. It means that for every man, woman and child in the UK there will be THREE THOUSAND daddy long legs on the rampage. Most will be the Tipula paludosa species and around an inch long. But the mild, wet summer means there has also been an explosion in the Tipula maxima species, which can easily grow up to FOUR inches.

Scientists were able to work out the vast numbers by analysing the concentration of crane fly larvae - the grubs are called 'leatherjackets' - and even predict when the maximum number would hatch. Climate change is believed to have pushed back the time many emerge from their cocoons, making the last few days of September and early October the crucial time.

IMGUR Vast clusters of daddy long legs are expected all over Britain

The Giant daddy long legs has a leg span of 10cm and has the largest wingspan of any British fly Vanessa Amaral-Rogers, Buglife

But while the nation holds it breath, the country’s leading insect experts came forward to dispel many of the myths that surround Britain’s 300 crane fly species. Vanessa Amaral-Rogers, campaigns officer for the leading British invertebrate charity, Buglife, stressed daddy long legs are NOT poisonous and they do NOT bite or sting. She said: “Crane flies are curious creatures, with slender bodies and gangly long legs, and can often be seen in the autumn in homes and porches. “They have often been quoted as one of the most venomous insects but they are seemingly impotent as they do not have jaws to bite.

“Crane flies are among the most common of the flies. In fact, they make up one in ten of every fly. They are also known as daddy long-legs, however this name is also shared with harvestmen, which look like spiders, but are actually most closely related to either mites or scorpions in North America. “The giant daddy long-legs (Tipula maxima) which is normally found in damp woodland, has a leg span of 10cm and has the largest wingspan of any British fly. “But don’t let that disturb you, crane flies are completely harmless and don’t carry any venom, at all. The females have a sharpened point at the end of their bodies, but these are tubes for laying eggs in the soil and cannot harm humans."

GETTY A perfect storm of weather conditions has led to record numbers of the terrifying insects

She added: "Although common all year round, as the nights draw in, one particularly common species - Tipula paludosa - can often be found fluttering in our homes, attracted to the light in the same way that moths are. “It is the larvae of this species which is sometimes considered a pest. Known as leatherjackets, the grubs can eat on the roots of plants and may cause some damage. But once the grubs turn into adults, they rarely eat. They mate, lay eggs and then die after a few days. “Crane flies play an environmentally important role. Their larvae help enrich the soil, turning dead organic litter into nutrient-rich material. They’re also breakfast, lunch and dinner for birds, bats, amphibians, spiders, other insects, reptiles and fishes, and are used extensively by fisherman as models for fishing lures. “In some countries, people even eat the larvae and consider them a delicacy. “Warm summer months are great for wildlife in general and can effect the numbers of crane flies that we see. “Although they can cause a bit of bother in the homes with their incessant fluttering, they are placid creatures, literally incapable of hurting a fly. If you find one, catch it gently, release it outside and wish it well for the rest of its very short life."

YOUTUBE Up to 175 billion daddy long legs are on the loose across Britain

Professor Davy McCracken, an ecologist at Scotland's Rural College, who led a study into crane fly populations, said: "While over 90 per cent of the fields sampled contained more than 0.6 million grubs per hectare nearly 60 per cent of the fields harboured populations of over two million per hectare. “Densities like that, if left untreated, are likely to result in severe and visible damage to the grass sward or any spring crops sown after the grass. One result showed 13.6 million grubs per hectare, the highest density we have ever found in one field.” If those kinds of concentrations were replicated across the estimated 12 million hectares of British grasslands, parks and lawns, the resulting crane fly explosion would be of astronomic proportions, with figures ranging from seven billion insects to a gargantuan 175 billion. But the mere thought of one crane fly can send people into a frenzy. A Mumsnet debate on the subject reveals many terrified victims. One user posted: “They scare me senseless. I thought that I had until autumn to start worrying about it, however went to put the bins out and there they are. Horrible things aimlessly flying around, crashing into everything in the way, including me. “They really frighten me, to the point where I can’t go outside if they are by the door. As for opening the windows, I just can’t bring myself to do it. I have made a fool of myself many times, trying to avoid them in a panic while out and about.”

FACEBOOK The giant daddy long legs grows up to 10cm long