A NEWPORT man collapsed and was rushed to hospital after being bitten by a tropical spider hiding in a bunch of bananas.

Doctors at Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital had to monitor Philip Travenen's life signs for 17 hours following the incident.

Mr Travenen, 65, of Medway Close, Bettws, was on a shopping trip when the spider struck.

As he picked up a bunch of bananas at Sainsbury's in Newport the arachnid, a giant crab spider, bit his right hand with a venomous sting. Mr Travenen, who suffers from emphysema, said: "I picked up a bunch of four bananas and I felt something tickling my finger.

"Someone said, 'there's a spider' and as I dropped the bananas I felt as if I had been pricked with a needle.

"I collapsed and an off-duty paramedic helped me until an ambulance arrived. I spent 17 hours in hospital overnight and I still feel a bit woozy."

A quick-thinking member of staff at Sainsbury's captured the spider in a clear plastic tub and paramedics took it with Mr Travenen to the hospital so doctors could work out what specialist treatment was needed. The spider, which has since died, was sent to Bristol Zoo for identification and further tests.

Head of invertebrates at the zoo, Warren Spencer, said the spider, which measures between three and four centimentres across, belongs to the sparassidae or giant crab spider family.

He said it was from the tropics and was commonly associated with banana plantations but was not considered harmful to humans. All spiders use venom to subdue prey, he said, but the venom of only a very few types was detrimental to humans.

A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "We are sorry for any distress this may have caused and we are investigating how this incident could have happened.

"Sainsbury's takes as many precautions as possible to prevent events such as this. It is extremely unfortunate this spider got through our 11 rigid controls and we apologise to the customer concerned. "We sell millions of bananas every week. This sort of occurrence is extemely rare."