A rare toxic spider has been killed because it stopped eating and drinking after dropping into a Dartford road.

Last week News Shopper reported how Wayne May, of Artisan Rare Breeds, based in the Brent, Dartford, was called to the creature on Thursday (Nov 27). 

A driver had phoned him after noticing it near the Dartford Tunnel.

He believes the Australian Redback spider fell off a lorry on the way to imports and exports.

However the creepy crawly struggled to adapt to the chillier climate in Britain and had to be put down.

Mr May believes her body may be preserved for scientific purposes because the species is so rare and could pave the way for medical breakthroughs. 

The 43-year-old said: "She had to be euthanised. We sent her to the government agency which deals with that, the Animal and Plant Health Agency on Friday.

"It was the kindest thing to do, she hadn’t been eating or drinking for the past three days. 

"We think it was the climate change because she was from Australia.

"I don’t know how they’ll put her down. Normally people just stamp on spiders when they find them at home but I don’t think they’d do that in the lab where we sent her.

"We didn’t have the specialism to deal with the spider because it’s so rare.

"But I think the species is valuable to medicine so it’s good that the spider’s body can be used for research purposes."

News Shopper was unable to ascertain how the spider was euthanised.

But here are five possibilities:

Boil it in water – it only takes six minutes for an egg so give it 10 and you should have an ex-spider.

Freeze it – if it’s good enough for Walt Disney then it should be fine for an arachnid.

Stamp on it – probably best done in substantial size 10s rather than flip-flops.

Feed to a bigger spider – though you need to be careful you don’t set yourself up with a bigger problem, remember the old woman who swallowed a fly...

Drown it – If you are going for this option you’re probably better off choosing option one and adding heat to the equation to make sure.

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