Plymouth mum shocked to find a tarantula in the street

A Plymouth mum was left shocked after coming across a tarantula in the middle of a pavement while walking to the park with her family.

Local author Rachael Atkins was on her way out with her husband and daughter when she was stopped in her tracks. "We were a bit stunned for a moment because it couldn't possibly be an actual tarantula," she said.

Rachael said that she got her husband and daughter to hang back and despite her being "very afraid" of spiders, she went to investigate.

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She added: "Curiosity got the better of me. It looked very real, so I ran back to our house to try and get a pot big enough. It wasn't moving at this point - just sat there.

"I managed to gingerly pop the pot over it and I started getting myself into a position to be able to get a piece of paper under and possibly run away if I had to."

Rachael says she attracted the attention of a driver passing by and asked what was on the floor. She added: "When we said it was a tarantula a young lad got out of the car and he was an absolute star and gently flipped it into the tub for me.

"We were able to get a closer look then and it became obvious that it was probably dead. It wasn't moving or reacting at all. We thanked the two chaps very much and I then put a post on our estate's Facebook group to try and find an owner - we assumed it had to be an escaped pet or possibly dumped, we'll never know for sure."

Sadly Rachael has not had anyone come forward to say they had lost their pet. "I did get some really touching comments from a lot of people," she said.

"It's a gorgeous looking creature - kind of a verdigris body with tufts of orange hair. It's just very sad that it has died in a habitat it clearly isn't suited to."

Rachael said she contacted Dartmoor Zoo for advice to make sure she was "doing the responsible thing" and was advised she had done all she can.

If you think the tarantula could be your lost pet, get in touch at news@plymouthherald.co.uk.