Businessman’s shock at finding huge poisonous spider floating in a Tesco bottle of white wine

• Peter Berry bought the wine for his mother and mother-in-law’s birthday
• A guest at the 90th celebration spotted the spider floating in the bottle
• The arachnid was identified as a Araneus spider which can bite humans
• Tesco asked Mr Berry to return the bottle to them so they can investigate

A businessman was horrified when he found a huge venomous spider in a bottle of Tesco finest white wine.

Peter Berry, 66, said the two-inch long arachnid was spotted floating in the wine as a guest picked up the bottle from an ice bucket during a party.

He bought the £7.99 bottle of Vin de Pays d’Oc Grenache Marsanne for his mother and mother-in-law’s joint 90th birthday celebrations.

 

Peter Berry bought the £7.99 bottle of wine from Tesco for his mother and mother-in-law’s joint 90th birthday

Mr Berry’s niece spotted the two-inch long arachnid after she removed the bottle from an ice bucket

Mr Berry, of Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, said: ‘It’s disgusting. You’d expect to find a spider in your bathroom, not in a bottle of wine.

‘We were having a great time at the party until my niece found it. Like most people, she’s scared of spiders and it made her feel quite freaked out.

‘We’re just thankful she noticed it before someone poured the contents into a glass and swallowed it without realising.’

Professor Ian Rotherham, of Sheffield Hallam University, has identified the  spider as an Araneus – a spider found throughout Europe.

Thankfully, it is not dangerous although it does have venom and is known to bite humans.

Professor Ian Rotherham of Sheffield Hallam University identified the insect as a venomous Araneus spider which is commonly found in Europe. The arachnid can bite humans although its poison is very mild

After discovering the rogue spider, Mr Berry made an email complaint to Tesco and was advised to return the bottle to the store, which he is yet to do.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: ‘We set ourselves very high standards for the safety and quality of our products.

‘Our customer service team have asked Mr Berry to return the product to us as soon as possible so that we can conduct a thorough investigation.’

 

Mr Berry bought the bottle of wine from the Tesco Extra store in Bradley Stoke, Bristol, pictured. A spokesperson said they wanted the bottle returned so they could ‘conduct a thorough investigation’

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