Creepy discovery: A tarantula is feared on the loose in Cardiff (Picture: File / Alamy)

A giant asbestos-infected tarantula is feared to be on the loose on the streets of Cardiff after a gruesome attic discovery.

The alarm was raised after a team of asbestos removal experts from Kuston Vorland found its recently-shed skin in an abandoned 19th century house in the Roath area on Tuesday.

Experts believe the creature could have doubled in size to seven inches, with its exposure to asbestos making it potentially even more dangerous to the public.

Surveyor Katie Parsons-Young received a shock after lifting up some floorboards in the property to find what she believed was a dead spider.




‘We had lighting in there so we moved the lighting to the other area of the attic where I was and could see there was something,’ she told Wales Online.

‘I was the first in. I sort of saw a leg, screamed and went.

‘We don’t know if the spiders have been living there by themselves or it was a pet that’s made its home there.’

Cardiff Reptile Centre believe the tarantula is still at large and are currently testing the tarantula’s skin for traces of carcinogen.

‘I will certainly not be going back in there. I was absolutely petrified and couldn’t stop shaking for two hours,’ added the asbestos expert.

‘It was just horrific. I hate spiders and I hate them even more now.’