Police hope Wincy's owner will come forward

The tarantula - which has been named Wincy - was found on a pavement near Robert Redhead Park, in South Shields, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Wincy is now being kept in a shoebox at South Shields police station until a home can be found.

Officers are hoping the owner of the red-haired arachnid will come forward.

Zoe Smith, who found Wincy, said: "My boyfriend was walking me home when he spotted something legging it out of the shadows.

"We didn't know what it was at the at first then we discovered this little thing.

"It wasn't little at the time though. It just looks petrified now."