Spider photos - Expert dispels conker myth

BBC Midlands Today viewers have been sending in their spider snaps and say the creepy crawlies seem to be bigger this year.

But experts say this is not the case - and conkers will not keep the eight-legged creatures at bay.

Dr Richard Burkman from the Field Studies Council, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire said: "There are a couple of species which naturally mature at the this time of year, among the house spider and the garden cross spider that builds orb webs in the garden. It's just the right time of year for them to get big and mature."

He said using conkers to keep spiders away was "an old wives' tale".