AS THE sun sets on summer and the season turns, eight-legged critters are crawling their way into homes ahead of so-called 'spider season'.

September supposedly brings with it an influx of the arachnids as males go on the hunt for a mate.

But while some may shiver at the thought of a spindly cobweb, spare a thought for one Witney family whose home has been invaded by black widow imposters.

Janet Bradbury and husband 'Brad' Bradbury discovered a cluster of eight poisonous false widows lurking in a crack in their conservatory.

She said: "We saw legs hanging out of the crack. I'm not normally frightened of spiders but we read about them and they can give a nasty bite."

The uninvited lodgers, largely referred to as Britain's most venomous species of spider, have been known to inflict bites on humans leading to amputations.

But the critters, who have squeezed into a crevice at their home in Moorland Road, have not yet scared Mrs Bradbury – despite three of them going missing from the nest.

She said: "I'm not bothered about them. I think they're quite happy in that corner. I keep on the lookout every day to see if they'll come out.

"I've noticed there are less flies in the conservatory. We did see a bumble bee go in there and they were fighting one another."

The spiders, which she described as "distinctive, black and big and bulbous", are often mistaken for the deadly black widow spider found in tropical countries.

Mrs Bradbury, 75, who also shares her home with her son Keith Barrett and grandson Leigh Clarke, said she tried and failed to vacuum the nest to coax them out.

The grandmother-of-three said: "The web is not like an ordinary cobweb. It's very thick and strong and sticky – it was like treacle."

The family have managed to catch two of the baby spiders in a jar, which have since died, but three big ones continue to skulk in the shadows.

A further three small ones appear to have gone on a walkabout.

Mrs Bradbury said her daughter and granddaughter, who live nearby, are "frightened to death" of the spiders and fear they will lay more eggs.

She said: "I told them not to exaggerate."

Have you spotted any false widow spiders on the roam? Email news@nqo.com.