Nine-year-old girl finds black widow spider in red grapes bought at Waitrose

By Daily Mail Reporter

Supermarket bosses have recalled red Mexican grapes from all their stores after a deadly black widow spider was found in a bunch.

Waitrose pulled the fruit from shelves in case other spiders had entered the country in the same consignment.

The black widow - the world's fifth most poisonous spider - was found by nine-year-old Harriet Barron in a fruit bowl at her home.

Minutes earlier, her brother Elliot had been eating from the same bunch while watching television.

The black widow is the world's fifth most poisonous spider

Their mother, Susanne, a 53-year-old nurse, had bought the grapes at her local Waitrose in Northampton.

She said: 'Harriet went to get a grape and started screaming, "There's a spider in there."'

' My husband Columbus recognised the hour-glass-shaped orange and red markings, covered it with paper and walked out of the room.'

The couple, who have four children, put the spider in a jar before contacting Waitrose and the Department for Food.

Mrs Barron said she has not asked for a refund. ' Our thoughts were about safety because there was likely to be more than one in the consignment,' she added.

Black widow spiders come from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Females can grow to about 1.5inches, including leg-span, but males are much smaller.

A store spokesman said: 'This is an isolated incident and our fruit undergoes stringent checks during packing.'

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