A huntsman spider the "same size as a hand" was found in boxes shipped to the UK from China.

       The spider gave a warehouse worker in Oldham the fright of her life when she discovered it among goods meant for UK customers.

       She said: "The spider is the size of my child's hand."

       "I found the spider in-between boxes - it was dead already squashed and dried."

       "It was quite shocking to find such a creature where you wouldn't expect it to be."

       She added: "It gave me a heart attack - I was there with my husband and I jumped away and hid behind him."

       "I would compare the size of it to the hand of my three-year-old. The body of it was the size of a car key."

       "It gives me shivers just thinking about it."

       The creepy-crawly was spotted on Tuesday (March 12) and is thought to have died during its sea voyage from China.

       Spider expert Aaron Phoenix, who owns nearly 1000 spiders, believes the spider was a huntsman, likely a heteropoda venatoria, which lives in warm places around the world.

       He said: "A lot of people get freaked out by these but they are actually harmless, just very quick."

       Huntsman spiders are some of the largest spiders, with the biggest ones having a leg span of almost one foot (30 centimetres).

       Heteropoda venatoria spiders might look scary, but they're not dangerous. They can give a sore bite if you bother them though.

       Mr Phoenix added: "I've been sent pictures of these a few times by friends that work on the fruit market and at the airport.

       "It's becoming very popular to hear of them coming over in cargo containers and fruit boxes."