Tammy Neal, of Peterborough, screamed when at least 20 tiny Huntsman spiders ran out over her arms after she picked up a banana.

She dropped the fruit into a sink of soapy water with the spiders but at least five escaped into the house.

A Huntsman can grow to the size of a hand. Its bite is painful and can cause swelling, sickness and headaches.

Beforehand I could quite gladly pick a spider up with my hand and put it outside but now if I see one I run for my life Tammy Neal

Mrs Neal said: "I don't know where they went. If they have managed to live in the hold of an aeroplane at below zero, then they can live after being dropped in soapy water.

"There's a good chance they could be somewhere in my home, which is extremely worrying."

Mrs Neal was particularly concerned for her six-year-old-daughter and three-year-old son.

"Beforehand I could quite gladly pick a spider up with my hand and put it outside but now if I see one I run for my life.

"It was pretty horrid. I won't buy bananas any more either," she said.

A spokesman from Tesco, where Mrs Neal bought the bananas, said: "We are currently arranging for Mrs Neal's home to be fumigated.

"We sell tens of millions of bananas each year and these cases are very rare."

Last week a man from Kent was bitten by a Huntsman which arrived in a bunch of bananas also bought from a Tesco store.