False widow spiders close Northampton's Duston School

The false widow is the most venomous species of spider in the UK

Around 1,500 pupils are being taught online after a school closed due to a suspected infestation of false widow spiders.

The Duston School in Northampton informed parents on Tuesday night.

The spider is said to have a bite on a par with a wasp's sting. The extent of the outbreak was being assessed and the school was being cleaned.

It followed a temporary closure last week of Malcolm Arnold Academy in Northampton, for the same reason.

Bites have meant hospital treatment for some people who believed they were bitten by the species, such as a woman in south Glamorgan and a man from Hertfordshire.

Duston's head Sam Strickland confirmed both the primary and secondary parts of the state school would close.

"I cannot apologise enough for the inconvenience that this may cause you, especially in terms of organising child care arrangements," he said.

"However, the health and safety of the school community must come first and foremost.

"Work will be set for all of our pupils to complete at home via Microsoft Teams."

Malcolm Arnold Academy closed for a day on Friday, 17 September.

False widows - Britain's most venomous spider

• About the size of a 50p coin

• Arrived in south-west England in the 1870s

• So named due to its similarity in appearance to the highly venomous black widow spider, which is not native to Britain

• It is Britain's most venomous spider, although its bite is no stronger than a wasp sting

• Has distinctive cream markings on its bulbous brown body with reddish-orange legs

• Prefers warm, dark places and eats insects, invertebrates and other spiders

Source: Natural History Museum