PICTURE OF BRITIAN'S MOST DEADLY SPIDER.WOMAN ALMOST LOST HER HAND TO IT.

Catherine Coombs, 48, awoke in excruciating pain when the false widow bit the back of her hand in bed.

She was rushed to hospital as the venom caused it to swell — and began to EATaway at her flesh.

Doctors have operated three times over the past six weeks to remove dead tissue and stop the venom spreading.

Catherine, of Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, said: “I had to sign for amputation every time I went under anaesthetic.

“Every time I woke, I made sure my hand was still there.” She will now have her hand rebuilt.

False widows, a close relative of the black widow, are no bigger than a 20p piece but have the worst bite of any spider in the UK.