A teenager is determined to keep Britain’s most poisonous spiders as pets, despite being bitten by the insects.

Hannah Saunders, 18, of Defoe Crescent in Mile End, has two false widow spiders.

The creatures have been in the news recently, with reports of people being bitten. They belong to the same family as the infamous black widow spider, but are not as toxic.

Hannah, who was bitten on the thumb, said: “It did give me a bit of a shock but it hasn’t scared me off.

“It was swollen for about three months. I couldn’t do anything with it. I still get pain in it now.”

See Thursday's Gazette for the full story.