ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Four east London schools have been shut for up to a month after being infested with venomous false widow spiders.

Pest controllers were called in after the pests were reported at two primary and two secondary schools in Newham.

Pupils now face weeks without classroom lessons. One school, Rokeby secondary in Canning Town, is due to remain closed until October 29.

False widow spiders are about the size of a 50p coin and are the most dangerous spider species in the UK. Their bites can cause painful swelling but are not life-threatening.

Parents said they were told to collect their children early after the infestations were discovered.

Cara Turpin, whose daughter attends Star Lane Primary in Canning Town which is also affected, said on Facebook: “I had to get her early yesterday. It’s shut until Friday as far as we know, not sure about next week.”

Lister Community School in Plaistow and Ellen Wilkinson Primary in Beckton were also closed until further notice after the spiders were found there.

Rokeby head teacher Charlotte Robinson said a pest control company estimated it would take three weeks to clear the creatures.

The dangers of False Widow spiders False widows get their name because they look similar to the potentially lethal black widow spiders. Their bite is about as painful as a wasp sting but rarely can cause a condition known as steatodism, whose symptoms include general malaise, muscle pain, cramps and palpitations. The venom of the black widow spider is over 1,000 times more powerful. The false widow is generally found indoors and appears to prefer outbuildings such as lavatory blocks, sheds and conservatories. They tend to be active at night, hiding away during the day in a crack or hole near their web. Native to the Canary Islands and Madeira, they are believed to have come to the UK with a shipment of bananas that arrived in Torquay in 1879. Until recently false widow spiders were confined to the south coast but have recently been found as far north as Scotland. There have been reports of false widow bites that present with more serious symptoms like rotting flesh and excruciating pain.

In a letter to parents of the school’s 770 pupils, she wrote: “I have had to take the difficult decision to close Rokeby School to students and staff until Monday October 29.

“We have engaged a company to deal with and eradicate this pest, they have estimated that this will take up to three weeks.

“The safety and wellbeing of students and staff must be our priority so whilst I understand that this may be very inconvenient for you it is in your child’s best interest to remain at home and not at school.”

Lister Community School head teacher Anthony Wilson said he hoped his school would open by Friday.

He added: “Investigations suggest that there may be some of these spiders on our site, and we are therefore following advice from the local authority and will be closing the school as a precaution to allow full investigation.”

A Newham Council spokeswoman confirmed the schools – which are all within a two-mile radius - were closed after the false widow spiders were discovered.

She added: “The spiders only bite if mishandled or provoked. The venom is not particularly potent.

“The schools are being treated and fumigated and we are working with the schools to ensure that children can continue to receive an education whilst their school is closed. Pupils are being set work via the schools and will remain in contact with schools.

“We are asking all our schools and nurseries to proactively check their premises carefully for these spiders and if they see any signs, then contact environmental health or pest control.”