{"id":211960,"date":"2025-06-25T02:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T02:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/211960\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T02:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T02:16:13","slug":"uks-most-dangerous-spider-leaves-gaping-hole-in-womans-leg-after-bite-in-pub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/211960\/","title":{"rendered":"UK’s ‘most dangerous spider’ leaves gaping hole in woman’s leg after bite in pub"},"content":{"rendered":"

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Paige Oldfield says it ‘was like something out of a horror film’ after a suspected bite from a spider in a pub left her with months of agony and a growing hole in her leg\"PaigePaige Oldfield, 30, believes a bite from a false widow spider caused her months of pain(Image: Jam Press)<\/p>\n

A woman was left with a ‘gaping hole’ in her leg and months of pain after she was bitten by \u2018Britain\u2019s most dangerous spider<\/a>\u2019 in a pub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paige Oldfield says started to feel intensely itchy a few days after going for a few drinks with a friend, and was left \u201chorrified\u201d to discover a raised, crater-shaped mark on her right calf. She snapped a photo to send to her grandmother, who used to be a nurse, and she urged her to see a doctor<\/a> – but Paige put it off, believing it to be a harmless mosquito<\/a> bite. Things spiralled out of control however, and before long she was left unable to walk as the hole began to grow larger and more painful.<\/p>\n

\"WhatWhat began as a sore spot on Paige’s leg became a ‘gaping’ wound(Image: Jam Press)<\/p>\n

At one point, it was so deep that Paige could put part of her finger inside of it. Paige, a 30-year-old writer from Manchester<\/a>, said: \u201cI honestly thought I was going to lose my leg at one point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like something out of a horror film. The hole was weeping pus, and I could feel it dripping down my leg. I kept it as clean as possible and thought it would get better on its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I started getting excruciating shooting pains down my leg. I can handle pain, but this was just something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paige says she initially brushed off the advice from her family to seek medical advice, but after a week, she noticed the hole getting bigger. During a routine smear test, which was booked during this same time, Paige decided to ask the nurse for some advice \u2013 and even they were left stunned.<\/p>\n

\"AtAt its worst, the wound was so deep that Paige could put part of her finger inside of it(Image: Jam Press)<\/p>\n

Describing her reaction, she said: \u201cThey let out a huge gasp when they saw it. She took a swab and told me I needed to go to reception and be seen by a doctor that very same day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was prescribed antibiotics, and my bite finally started showing some signs of healing. The swab results also came back and also showed it was heavily infected.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as I neared the end of the antibiotic course, I started to panic. The bite had definitely improved, but it still wasn\u2019t fully healed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a feeling that once the scab fell off, I would be right back where I started, and unfortunately, that\u2019s exactly what happened. The hole in my leg was now so deep I could literally put my finger in it if I wanted to.<\/p>\n

\u201cSleeping became impossible, and I couldn\u2019t wear trousers, so cycling shorts became the norm. It just felt like a never-ending nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FalseFalse widow spiders can deliver a painful bite(Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n

Though she never received an official diagnosis, Paige believes she was bitten by either a false black widow or a brown recluse spider. False widow spiders are the most venomous spiders in Britain, and can deliver a painful bite, with symptoms ranging from localised swelling and burning to infected wounds and nerve pain in rare cases.<\/p>\n

They typically live in sheds, garages and homes, especially in southern England, but have been spreading further north due to warmer weather<\/a>. Meanwhile, brown recluse spiders are native to the United States, and are rare in the UK.<\/p>\n

Paige\u2019s wound didn\u2019t begin healing until March and has left a \u201cgnarly\u201d scar that she tries to improve with oil. The 30-year-old said that while the mark is unsightly and \u201cwill likely be there for life\u201d, she is grateful to still have her limb – and admits her ordeal is \u201ddefinitely a conversation starter at the pub\u201d.<\/p>\n

“I always look around for spiders while sipping my drink!”, she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Paige Oldfield says it ‘was like something out of a horror film’ after a suspected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[105,51015,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-211960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-spiders","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114741600947508295","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}