St Leonards stowaway huntsman to appear on BBC One show
A "palm-sized" huntsman spider that stowed away in a shipping container of BMX parts is to feature on a BBC One programme.
The 7in (18cm) arachnid travelled from Taiwan to a freight depot in St Leonards, East Sussex, in November.
After its discovery by depot staff, it was collected by the RSPCA and rehomed at the Drusillas Park zoo in Alfriston.
The story of the spider, which has been named Tinchy, will be shown on Animal SOS on Monday.
Staff at BMX Distribution said at first they thought it was a plastic spider as it was not moving,
Warehouse manager Joe Woodburn said: "It started to warm up and was jumping up the side of the box."
The RSPCA says huntsman spiders, which are common in Australia, can give a nasty bite but are not a big threat to humans.
Animal SOS will be shown on BBC One at 11:00 BST on Monday.