A couple were shocked to discover this tarantula scuttling about on the landing of their Rainham home.

They contacted wildlife enthusiast Ray Allibone and he identified it as a European tarantula, native to the warmer southern parts of the continent.

“The poor thing was trapped in a vase for a couple of hours until I could get there,” said Mr Allibone.

Mr Allibone, who worked for 18 years at London Zoo and now runs Swampy’s Wildlife Rescue at Sheerness, said it’s the third time he’s found one of these creatures in Kent.

“I don’t think it’s an escaped pet,” he said. “It’s not particularly big and people usually want the big ones.”

The Rainham couple who found the spider have not been abroad for years so Mr Allibone thinks the tarantulas may be hitching lifts on lorries travelling across the continent.

"The ease of travel may be the culprit,” he said.

Kent's warmer climate has encouraged other non-native spiders - including the false widow - to colonise the county, which is already home to some endemic varieties that may or may not be dangerous.