Insect experts from the Natural History Museum were called to Brentford on Monday after a colony of aggressive foreign spiders were discovered under Kew Bridge.

The team discovered several hundred of the Tube Web spiders’ nests hanging from the beams under the bridge containing the spiders, which give a nasty nip if provoked.

Stuart Hine, manager of insect information at the Natural History Museum, who led the team, said: “The spiders have been in the country for a hundred years but really more or less confined to ports.

“They have really started to increase their habitat in the UK really rapidly in the last 15 years. Their bite is painful a bit like a prick from a rose or a bramble but they will only bite if the feel threatened.”

He revealed the museum had received reports from Kew, Chiswick and Hounslow of spiders entering people’s homes, particularly in the autumn months.

He advised people who discovered them in their house to trap them under a glass and free them at a distance they feel comfortable with.

The Tube Web spider is originally from the Mediterranean and measures between 0.6 and 0.9 inches with a green iridescence on its jaws.