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'I'm lucky to still have my leg': Decorator suffers horrific wound inflicted by poisonous spider that is plaguing Britain
- Ricki Whitmore was bitten by a false widow while decorating a classroom
- A&E doctors had to flush the poison out of 39-year-old Mr Whitmore's leg
- Mr Whitmore will now have to undergo six months of physio to walk again
By STEVE NOLANPUBLISHED: 03:04 GMT, 11 October 2013 | UPDATED: 03:05 GMT, 11 October 2013
A decorator will have to learn to walk again after he suffered an horrific bite from Britain's most poisonous spider. Ricki Whitmore, 39, was bitten when he disturbed a nest of false widow spiders while working at a school.Surgeons had to flush the spider's venom from his leg after his thigh swelled to twice its normal size.Mr Whitmore, from Romford in Essex, will now have to undergo six months of specialist physiotherapy to walk again.
Horrific: A huge scar on Ricki Whitmore's thigh after he had to undergo emergency surgery after being bitten by the UK's most venomous spider, the false widow
Nasty bite: Mr Whitmore was bitten by the false widow spider, pictured, which is related to the deadly black widow
He is one of a number of people across the UK to suffer nasty bites from the spider, which is related to the lethal black widow, amid fears that numbers of the arachnid are soaring in Britain. With temperatures outside plummeting as the winter months approach, millions of the spiders could make their way into homes across the country to escape the cold.
Mr Whitmore told how he was attacked by the spider, which can bite when threatened, because he never normally kills the creatures and instead tried to brush it out of the way as he worked. His wife Carrie told the Daily Star that she was horrified when her husband staggered through the door of the family home looking pale and sweaty.
Intense treatment: Ricki Whitmore, pictured with his step-son Stanley (back), son Ricki jnr (front left) and daughter Olivia, will now have to undergo months of physiotherapy just to walk again
Once surgeons had initially flushed the poison out of his leg, Mr Whitmore had to have his thigh 'washed' eight times in the ensuing weeks.He told the Star: 'I am just lucky to still have my leg.'Experts believe that the spiders my be thriving in the UK because of a wet start to the summer followed by a heatwave. They believe that long term climate change could be leading spiders to set up home in new areas. Some experts say however, that many people who claim to have spotted the false widow, may have been mistaking the common house spider for a false widow. They are distinctive for their shiny, black flesh, bulbous bodies, thick legs and skull-like patterns on their backs.in the borough in recent months.
Injured: Footballer Steve harris has been sidelined after having to undergo emergency surgery following a false widow bite
A 22-year-old footballer from Devon also needed emergency surgery after a nasty bite from the spider.Steve Harris was left with a massive gash in his side caused by the bite of the poisonous false black widow. The injury was so bad Steve had to undergo an emergency operation and will miss several games. Surgeons had to cut away the poison on his side, leaving Steve, of Dawlish, Devon, with an open wound and unable to play for Elmore Football Club. Steve said: 'When I woke up I had a pain in my side - a stinging feeling. I didn't take that much notice until it started swelling and the pain got worse. 'I was in agony. I have never had pain like that before in my life. It's still very painful now. I still can't sleep properly and find it virtually impossible to get in and out of a car.'
Two other people also needed hospital treatment after being bitten by the spider in south London.
William Fraser, 14, was bitten (left) at his home in on Thursday evening by a spider that is believed to be a false widow (stock image, right)
William Fraser, 14, was bitten at his home in Sutton on Thursday evening by a spider that is believed to have got into his bedroom. He woke the following day with a small bite mark on his forearm but by the time he got home from school on Friday his condition had worsened. Mother Sarah Fraser said: 'The whole of his forearm had swollen from elbow to wrist.
Alexander Giordano, 39, of Broomloan Lane in Sutton, was bitten on his shoulder and wrist
His arm started hurting and his hand went numb and, as a childhood leukaemia sufferer, his immune system is weak so he went to A&E
'We gave him an anti-histamine and paracetamol. The next day he seemed to get better but on Sunday he just got worse and worse. He was feeling ill and he had to go to bed.'We got him up to St Helier and the doctors and nurses hadn't even heard of false widows. 'When we showed them the article [in the local paper] the doctor seemed very concerned and wanted to keep him in overnight.'
Poisonous: The spiders, which are thought to be thriving in the UK, are related to the black widow
In the end William was allowed home following a strong dose of penicillin and his condition has improved. Alexander Giordano, 39, of Broomloan Lane in Sutton, was bitten on his shoulder and wrist. His arm started hurting and his hand went numb and, as a childhood leukaemia sufferer, his immune system is weak so he went to A&E to be checked over and was put on a course of antihistamines, antibiotics and cream for the affected areas.Spider experts say the animals only usually bite when threatened and if people are bitten they are best to treat the bites themselves and stop them from becoming infected.
Conservation officer Greg Hitchock, who works at the Kent Wildlife Trust , called for calm over the false widow. He said: 'Lots of people said they have been absolutely sure that the spiders they have seen are false widows, but they’re not at all. It’s not that straight-forward.'The problem with sipders is that they are unpopular and not manypeople study them. 'Many of the "sightings" reported are probably not false widows at all.
'I think long term, global warming could have led to an increase in the spider population. 'But any warm winter weather we had last year was followed by a very harsh March.'
A decorator will have to learn to walk again after he suffered an horrific bite from Britain's most poisonous spider. Ricki Whitmore, 39, was bitten when he disturbed a nest of false widow spiders while working at a school.Surgeons had to flush the spider's venom from his leg after his thigh swelled to twice its normal size.Mr Whitmore, from Romford in Essex, will now have to undergo six months of specialist physiotherapy to walk again.
Horrific: A huge scar on Ricki Whitmore's thigh after he had to undergo emergency surgery after being bitten by the UK's most venomous spider, the false widow
Nasty bite: Mr Whitmore was bitten by the false widow spider, pictured, which is related to the deadly black widow
He is one of a number of people across the UK to suffer nasty bites from the spider, which is related to the lethal black widow, amid fears that numbers of the arachnid are soaring in Britain. With temperatures outside plummeting as the winter months approach, millions of the spiders could make their way into homes across the country to escape the cold.
Mr Whitmore told how he was attacked by the spider, which can bite when threatened, because he never normally kills the creatures and instead tried to brush it out of the way as he worked. His wife Carrie told the Daily Star that she was horrified when her husband staggered through the door of the family home looking pale and sweaty.
Intense treatment: Ricki Whitmore, pictured with his step-son Stanley (back), son Ricki jnr (front left) and daughter Olivia, will now have to undergo months of physiotherapy just to walk again
Once surgeons had initially flushed the poison out of his leg, Mr Whitmore had to have his thigh 'washed' eight times in the ensuing weeks.He told the Star: 'I am just lucky to still have my leg.'Experts believe that the spiders my be thriving in the UK because of a wet start to the summer followed by a heatwave. They believe that long term climate change could be leading spiders to set up home in new areas. Some experts say however, that many people who claim to have spotted the false widow, may have been mistaking the common house spider for a false widow. They are distinctive for their shiny, black flesh, bulbous bodies, thick legs and skull-like patterns on their backs.in the borough in recent months.
Injured: Footballer Steve harris has been sidelined after having to undergo emergency surgery following a false widow bite
A 22-year-old footballer from Devon also needed emergency surgery after a nasty bite from the spider.Steve Harris was left with a massive gash in his side caused by the bite of the poisonous false black widow. The injury was so bad Steve had to undergo an emergency operation and will miss several games. Surgeons had to cut away the poison on his side, leaving Steve, of Dawlish, Devon, with an open wound and unable to play for Elmore Football Club. Steve said: 'When I woke up I had a pain in my side - a stinging feeling. I didn't take that much notice until it started swelling and the pain got worse. 'I was in agony. I have never had pain like that before in my life. It's still very painful now. I still can't sleep properly and find it virtually impossible to get in and out of a car.'
Two other people also needed hospital treatment after being bitten by the spider in south London.
William Fraser, 14, was bitten (left) at his home in on Thursday evening by a spider that is believed to be a false widow (stock image, right)
William Fraser, 14, was bitten at his home in Sutton on Thursday evening by a spider that is believed to have got into his bedroom. He woke the following day with a small bite mark on his forearm but by the time he got home from school on Friday his condition had worsened. Mother Sarah Fraser said: 'The whole of his forearm had swollen from elbow to wrist.
Alexander Giordano, 39, of Broomloan Lane in Sutton, was bitten on his shoulder and wrist
His arm started hurting and his hand went numb and, as a childhood leukaemia sufferer, his immune system is weak so he went to A&E
'We gave him an anti-histamine and paracetamol. The next day he seemed to get better but on Sunday he just got worse and worse. He was feeling ill and he had to go to bed.'We got him up to St Helier and the doctors and nurses hadn't even heard of false widows. 'When we showed them the article [in the local paper] the doctor seemed very concerned and wanted to keep him in overnight.'
Poisonous: The spiders, which are thought to be thriving in the UK, are related to the black widow
In the end William was allowed home following a strong dose of penicillin and his condition has improved. Alexander Giordano, 39, of Broomloan Lane in Sutton, was bitten on his shoulder and wrist. His arm started hurting and his hand went numb and, as a childhood leukaemia sufferer, his immune system is weak so he went to A&E to be checked over and was put on a course of antihistamines, antibiotics and cream for the affected areas.Spider experts say the animals only usually bite when threatened and if people are bitten they are best to treat the bites themselves and stop them from becoming infected.
Conservation officer Greg Hitchock, who works at the Kent Wildlife Trust , called for calm over the false widow. He said: 'Lots of people said they have been absolutely sure that the spiders they have seen are false widows, but they’re not at all. It’s not that straight-forward.'The problem with sipders is that they are unpopular and not manypeople study them. 'Many of the "sightings" reported are probably not false widows at all.
'I think long term, global warming could have led to an increase in the spider population. 'But any warm winter weather we had last year was followed by a very harsh March.'
