A brave hero from Swanley has battled TWO suspected false widow spiders to rescue his wife after she was startled by the beasts.

Paul Dyer, 44, used “superhero reflexes” to trap the two spiders after his wife Donna found them in the couple's shed.

Once the spiders were safely trapped, Paul said he conducted some research into the species and thinks he took on two false widows.

Paul, of Laburnum Avenue, said: “My wife was working in the shed and got attacked by the spiders.

"She was scared, she doesn't like things like that. 

“I ran down and battled them, saved her then I saved the spiders in a jar.

“I then celebrated with a cup of Earl Grey.”

Not-so-Spider-man Paul said he put the two spiders in a jar but one “ruthlessly devoured” the other overnight.

He said: “There is only one left now and it’s big. It is probably the size of a 50p piece.

"I feel very brave. Very heroic."

Paul said his wife is recovering, and thankful for his heroism.

False widows are venomous and sightings in the UK have been on the rise.

Experts say the species is not usually aggressive towards humans and that being bitten is rare, but News Shopper has reported several instances in the past of Steatoda Nobilis attacks.

Back in 2016 an Orpington man was bitten and suffered a gruesome wound on his leg.

A false widow floored an army veteran with its bite in Swanley in 2015 leaving him housebound for two weeks.

False widows have a globular body shape and are common in outbuildings, according to the British Arachnological Society.

The spider’s body rarely exceeds 7mm in length for females, and 5mm for males. They are dark and shiny with a pattern on their body.

News Shopper has contacted the Kent Wildlife Trust for comment.

Have you spotted any False Widows recently? Let me know at tom.bull@london.newsquest.co.uk