Warning as two huge venomous tarantulas go missing in post

The tarantulas were sent to the wrong address in Bristol and caused a panic (Picture: Getty Images)

A new fear has been unlocked for arachnophobes in the south west aftertwo venomous spiders went missing in the postal system.

A parcel with a pair of massive tarantulas all the way from Colombia was sent to a wrong address on the outskirts of Bristol.

It caused quite the fright for would-be owner Shaun Webb when he found out that his tarantulas had gone missing.

In a Facebook post on July 8,he warned people that the packages had been mixed up and one unlucky person would receive the two Colombian lesserblack tarantulas.

He posted: ‘If you do [have my parcel] for the love of God don’t open it.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.‘There are tarantulas inside.’Thankfully Shaun confirmed that the person who received the spiders quickly passed them back to him.He revealed: ‘Thankfully,the parcel wasn’t opened.Thankfully the spiders were soon found and are now in their new home (Picture: Getty Images)‘I’m sure it would’ve been quite the shock [to the recipient] if they had opened it.‘I wasn’t very pleased,sending animals through the postal system is stressful enough! But mistakes happen and it was all sorted quickly.’Shaun said he likes to keep spiders as pets and even compared them to goldfish.‘I’ve kept tarantulas as pets for over 10 years now. They’re actually quite fascinating but,like goldfish,it’s more of a hands-off experience.’The two tarantulas have now been housed in their new homes.

Are Colombian lesserblack tarantulas dangerous?

The tarantulas,of the xenesthis immanis species,are also known as the Colombian lesserblack tarantula,and is a large spider which can grow up to 22cm in length.

It is a venomous spider,but a bite is not considered dangerous to humans.

They are one of the most desirable species because of their impressive size,colour and the fact they are not easy to breed.

On average one of them costs £55 to buy.

Shaun’s Facebook post did not go down well with some people,with one person posting: ‘New fear unlocked.’

Another person added: ‘Reminder for everyone – this is why we don’t open other people’s mail.’

The mixup came months after one of Europe’s largest spiders was spotted in a delivery of olives from Spain to the terror of a nursery owner.

The Spanish funnel-web spider is a venomous species with a ‘huge appetite’,and surprisingly made an appearance in West Sussex after a shipment of olives from Cordoba was unloaded.

The nursery owner,who asked not to be named,said: ‘My son,who was driving the forklift,saw it when he drove past. He just saw it out of the corner of his eye walking slowly across the yard. He rang me and said there’s something big just walked across the yard and under a pot.’

The father and son shared a photo of the spider with arachnologists on Facebook,and quickly discovered it was a Spanish funnel-web spider,or Macrothele calpeiana.