A dad-of-three fears for his kids’ safety after the council turned him away when his home was invaded by poisonous False Widow spiders.
Lewis Pearce, 26, is unable to work, walk or even shower after being bitten five times while asleep at his home in Southampton in July.
The removals worker is still in severe pain more than a month after the incident, but claims his council said there was nothing they could do when he enquired about pest control.
Mr Pearce says he is now ‘scared’ for the safety of his three children, who are five, three and seven months old.
His wife Nadine, 26, said: ‘It petrifies me. If my children are bitten like he has been, they won’t stand a chance.
‘When people are being bitten alive, how are we meant to pay rent? I’m meant to be here looking after my children and Lewis can’t work. It feels like we are stuck in a dark tunnel.’
Mr Pearce said that he has been told by his doctor that he had suffered an allergic reaction to the spider’s venom.
Southampton council have since promised to investigate the issue.
‘I can’t walk as it’s very difficult and I haven’t been able to shower properly for over a month as I can’t get the dressing wet’, he said.
‘The bites are painful and now I’m scared for my children, especially for my seven-month-old baby who sleeps in the same room as me – and during the night is when I’m usually bitten.’
Another resident at the block who asked not to be named, said they were also living in fear of the notorious False Widow spiders.
The species is commonly found in South America and can grow up to 14mm in size – considerably larger than the average British cupboard spider.
Last year four schools in East London were shut down for up to three weeks after becoming infested with the venomous spiders.
In 2014, an Irish man went into cardiac arrest and was put in intensive care after being bitten by what he claimed was a False Widow.
A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “We take all complaints of this nature seriously. While we haven’t been notified of any other households having this issue, we will investigate and advise tenants accordingly
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