A MAN suffered flash burns in an explosion at a home after chasing a spider that had frightened his wife.

Fire crews were called to deal with the unusual situation at a home in Oxford Road, Clacton, at 10.33pm last night.

On arrival crews found that a man had suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso after trailing a spider that had frightened his wife in their bathroom.

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: “It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.

“He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn’t appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.

“There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.

“He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm.

“Firefighters arriving at the scene administered emergency first aid while waiting for Ambulance teams to arrive and the man, who was 28 years old, was left in their care.

“There was some scorching to the back of the toilet but any fire was out before crews arrived at the scene.

“We’re not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene.”

The incident was dealt with by 10.48pm.