A TARANTULA scoffing head teacher says his eight legged lunch tasted just like chicken.

But rather than eating the crunchy snack because he did not fancy anything on the menu at St Olave’s School, Aydin Önaç was taking part in an unusual fundraiser.

In front of pupils and staff in an assembly he opened the plastic box which contained the oven-baked arachnid.

And then, leg by leg, Mr Önaç munched his way through the delicacy to raise money for a new sports and drama centre at his school in Goddington Lane, Orpington.

He said: “I thought I was feeling okay beforehand.

“It wasn’t until I opened the container and saw how big it was that I started to feel very nervous.

“When all the students came into the great hall and I realised what I had let myself in for, and that there was no way out, then I really started to panic.”

The feat raised £1,700 in sponsorship which will go towards equipping the new building.

News Shopper: Mr Önaç ate the tarantula leg by leg

Mr Önaç added: “It tasted quite salty, and a little bit like burnt chicken.

“It felt crunchy and very dry in the mouth, like eating those very dry cheese biscuits, so it was difficult to swallow.

“As I was eating it I was thinking about the quickest route to the cloakroom and whether I would still be alive by break-time.”

The tarantula came from a company which sustainably farms them in Cambodia to strict standards that comply with UK and EU guidelines.