Woman Calls Police Over ‘Poisonous’ Spider, But It Turns Out to be Dust

Woman Calls Police Over ‘Poisonous’ Spider, But It Turns Out to be Dust
A black widow spider on a farm in Georgia, USA. (James Gathany/CDC)
Epoch Newsroom
1/19/2016
Updated:
1/19/2016

A British woman called emergency services after she spotted what she believed was a poisonous spider that had traveled in from overseas along with a furniture delivery.

The woman was reportedly “left trapped” by the huge spider, forcing her to call 999 (the U.K. version of 911).

However, when a police officer came to her home, he discovered that the “spider” was nothing more than a large “piece of fluff,” according to the Metro.

The call’s details was released by Wiltshire Police as part of a campaign to show the inappropriate use of the 999 and 101 numbers.

The other calls included a homeless man who called police after he had been given a sandwich and was worried someone was trying to poison him because the wrapper was slightly opened. He wanted an officer to test it for him.

The Mirror said that a woman called police because she was afraid she couldn’t turn off her broken faucet and was overflowing. She was advised to take out the plug and call a plumber.

“I once took a call from a man who was lost in some woods,” Dominic Taylor, a senior operator with the police force, told the Mirror. “He was on his way home from a night out and was scared that a badger was going to attack him - the joys of alcohol.

A honey badger, the world's most fearless creature, eats a mouse at Prague's Zoo, file photo. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)
A honey badger, the world's most fearless creature, eats a mouse at Prague's Zoo, file photo. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)