DOZENS of fanged spiders - believed to be one of the largest types in the UK - have been found living in clusters on the outside of houses on a Newport street.

The spiders are said to be tube spiders, common across Europe and whose bite is comparable with a bee sting - with thick black bodies and fangs which appear to shine green.

Emerging after dark, the six-eyed spiders lay out six lines of web from a central point and lay one leg over each of them, waiting for an insect to land.

The spider can leave a painful bite said to last around six hours, but are not venomous.

Mike Rance, 41, told the Argus that at his friend's house on Ludlow Close, Newport, they discovered that tube spiders are actually quite fussy eaters.

"We tried to feed it a woodlouse but it wasn't interested," said Mr Rance, from Cwmbran.

"We tried a normal house spider but it didn't want that either. It only seems to eat the smaller (spiders)."

Mr Rance said one resident he spoke to, who also had the spiders living outside his property, reported that the spiders had been living there for years.

"I uploaded a photo to Facebook and asked people to identify the spider," he said. "A friend of mine is a vet with 32 tarantulas and she initially thought it was a UK mouse spider."

As media reports emerged of tube spiders being filmed, Mr Rance searched for pictures of the tube spider online and matched it to the one living behind his friend's outdoor light.

While outside filming it eat another arachnid, a neighbour called Mr Rance over to his house to look at dozens of tube spiders and he soon discovered several properties on the road were home to the creatures.

"These ones are only babies, they eat their mother," he said. "On the back of my friend's house we found seven, then the man two doors down called us over to see around 10 to 15 of them. They're said to be the biggest spider in Britain.

"They're quite amazing to watch."

TUBE SPIDER FACT FILE

THE tube spider (Segestria florentina) ranges in size from 22mm for females and 15mm for males, according to data from the Natural History Museum.

It has a black or dark brown cigar-shaped body and some specimens show a green iridescence on their jaws. Both sexes look similar and live on walls, fences, and the bark of trees.

Originally a native of southern Europe, adults can be found from June to November and create a tube-shaped web occupying a hole or crevice with trip-lines radiating out.

It was first recorded in the UK in 1845 and colonies remained local, usually close to southern ports, until the 1990s when a considerable expansion began.

Bites are reported to be sharp and painful but after six hours the pain subsides leaving a tender area with bite marks.

There are three UK species of Segestria: senoculata, bavarica and florentina.

Have you spotted tube spiders or any other weird and wonderful animal visitors to your house recently? Let us know and send pics to newsdesk@southwalesargus.co.uk or tweet @southwalesargus