False widow leaves dad in a wheelchair

A LANDSCAPE gardener had to have his leg amputated after being bitten by a false widow spider.

Dad Andy Perry, 46, developed sepsis and kidney failure after falling ill while doing a fencing job.

Medics were able to treat the infection but Andy was left with lymphedema – a painful and debilitating swelling of his leg.

After consulting specialists he opted to have his right limb amputated above the knee and now has to use an electric wheelchair.

Andy said he was bitten as he walked through tall grass in shorts.

He said: “Everything seemed fine until I got home, when I started to feel very dodgy.

“I lay down on the sofa expecting a bit of rest would help but it got worse and worse.

“My right leg had gone bright red and swollen so I was taken straight into hospital. They were doing blood tests but they hadn’t a clue what was wrong.

“Then someone noticed two tiny puncture marks just above my ankle and identified them as a spider bite.

“They guessed it was a false widow – they have a reputation as biters.

“I think I might have kicked its home in the long grass, it’s got the hump and given me a bite.

“So many infections are found in soil though and things flared up.”

Andy, of Huncote, Leics, said his family now relied on his policewoman wife’s salary.

He is adapting his garden to make it wheelchair-friendly so he can join his sons Thomas, eight, and George, five, playing outside.

He added: “It’s been quite a struggle and I’ve had some very dark moments.

“I was a really active person. I was working and enjoying life but I couldn’t carry on my business.”