IT engineer fights spider with improvised flamethrower

An IT engineer who attempted to dispatch a spider with an improvised flamethrower ended up on the wrong end of his own can of deodorant, the Sun reports.

Dad-of-two Chris Welding, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, explained: "It was about 10.30pm last night. My wife was getting ready for bed and suddenly she let out a scream. She said there was a spider in the bathroom and asked me to get rid of it - neither she or the kids would go in there.

"The spider had crawled into the recess behind the loo and there was no way I could get to it."

He continued: "Stupid as it is, I grabbed a can of deodorant and a lighter and sprayed it behind the loo. The flame shot out and went round the back of the toilet and came back out at me. It was a bit of a shock."

Welding jumped into a cold shower to mitigate the effects of the fireball while his missus called for professional assistance. Cue a couple of fire crews, an ambulance and a trip to Colchester General Hospital for the wannabe Roger Moore.

He concluded: "I've got two burned fingers and a burned knuckle. I wasn't badly injured but they wanted to check I hadn't inhaled any of the fumes."

The fate of the spider is unknown. By the time emergency services attended the scene, it had disappeared, the Sun chillingly notes. ®