A couple were left stunned after finding a spider with what looked like a skull on its back - which experts have confirmed to be a 'false widow'.

Kelly Fowden, 44, from Lowestoft, was upstairs when her partner found it while brushing his teeth.

"He yelled and ran upstairs to use the other bathroom," she said.

"The spider looked a bit unusual so I caught it in a cup and posted about it on Facebook to see if anyone could identify it."

Ms Fowden's post on 'Lowestoft One Hell of a Town' was popular and sparked debate about what the spider was and what to do with the spider.

"I could never have killed it, I love animals too much," she said.

"My partner was petrified but I took it to Kirkley cemetery and set it free."

Ms Fowden is currently having her house renovated and believes the spider could have come out of the chimney stack that is next to the downstairs bathroom.

"I think it's probably come up that way. It was dangling down underneath the cupboards when my partner found it," he said.

After the discovery, Ms Fowden believes she might have even saved a life.

"I have a funny feeling it was a girl and she may have been pregnant," she added.

"When they give birth, they eat their husbands so I might have even saved his life!"

Having previously been scared of the animals when she was younger, Ms Fowden overcame that fear a few years ago when she was forced to grab a 'large spider' that was making its way towards her bed.

"I didn't have a choice. I grabbed it because I didn't want it getting lost in my bed.

"After running around the house with it in my hands, I don't mind them as much anymore."

A Norfolk Wildlife Trust spokesman said: "Following county recorder confirmation, we can confirm this is a false widow spider, Steatoda nobilis."

The species gets its name as it is often mistaken for a black widow spider. While relatively harmless, it has been known to bite, with an effect similar to a bee or wasp sting.

To find out more information about false widow spiders, click here.