A student was left fighting for her life in hospital after a huge venomous spider bit her while she slept on holiday at a West Wales caravan park - leaving her with a golf ball-sized lump.

Abby Tannetta, 18, was at her parents’ caravan at Cardigan Bay Holiday Park, near Poppit Sands, with a friend to celebrate finishing college when she was attacked.

She woke up in agony, with a pain under her arm, and spotted a huge spider in her bed - thought to be a false widow - and ran from her room shrieking in fear.

Days later, Abby was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery as doctors feared the young student could contract sepsis if the oozing infection was not halted.

Her scary encounter came just days after the British Arachnological Society reported a "huge increase" in sightings of all species of spiders - including venomous false widows.

Abby, from Caerphilly, said: "I woke up with a sharp pain that woke me from my sleep, looked next to me and I just saw this giant spider running away from the bed.

"It was really sore and just got worse. It got bigger, it was very red, itchy and so sore that I couldn’t move my arm or sleep on the side.

"I was feeling really dizzy and weak, I was boiling, and I felt like my heart was racing and the lump had grown even more to the size of a golf ball.

"I collapsed as the doctors were rushing me into surgery but thankfully they managed to do it otherwise I could have got sepsis which you can die from.

"I was already really scared of spiders before this but now I’m too scared to even go back to the caravan and the sight of any tiny spider makes me feel sick and terrified."

Abby started taking antihistamines daily to combat any infection left from the bite, but the lump under her arm kept growing in size and becoming more painful.

She managed to capture the spider in a Tupperware container and took a photo of the beast that bit her which she believes could be a false widow spider.

Abby continued: "I’ve been in such a lot of pain whilst recovering.

"The pain is a lot better now. After the surgery I felt like I’d been stabbed, but it has died down now and I’m just uncomfortable instead.

"It was an open wound and so far into my body - it was about 4cm deep after the surgery.

"I’m meant to go back to the caravan in a couple of weeks but I feel too scared to go back there right now so I’ll just have to see how I feel nearer the time.

"I think it was a false widow spider - I’ve done some research and found other people in Wales who have been bit by them and in the same place under their arm as well. My photo of the spider matches the markings of false widows I’ve seen online too.

"People always say that spiders won’t hurt you, that you’re much bigger than them, but this shows they can. You just don’t think it will happen to you until it does."