A woman terrified of spiders booked an Uber so she could ask the driver to remove one from her home.
Zoe Rebecca, 28, had spotted the arachnid in her hallway and initially pleaded with friends to come and help, but no one was free.
Out of ‘sheer panic’ the mum decided to order a taxi.
She booked an Uber to her to a local supermarket, which cost £4.96, but when it arrived at her home in Great Park, Newcastle she explained to the driver she was actually looking for someone to help remove the spider.
‘He thought I was joking but agreed to do it when he realised I was serious,’ Zoe said.
‘He was a legend and said he would cancel the job so I didn’t have to pay but I still did. I gave him a £5 tip so he made a tenner out of it. It was worth the money.
‘I have seen him in Morrisons since and ran away in embarrassment.’
The nurse – who separated from her long-term partner last year – said she can’t get near a spider ‘without retching’.
She added: ‘One time I retched so loudly my son thought I was dying.’
‘I was with my ex for ten years and he got all the spiders and I think the biggest mistake in leaving him was not having anyone here to catch the spiders so I’ll have to download Tinder.’
After the Uber incident, Zoe found another spider, this time a huge one in the shower and decided to ask for help on a local Facebook group.
Zoe wrote on the page: ‘This is not a joke but a very serious post – can someone ANYONE come and remove Arogog from my house – to say I don’t do spiders is an understatement
‘There’s a bottle of wine for the volunteer.’
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She said she had to wait an agonising 16 minutes for the post to be approved, during which time she considered calling another Uber.
But once it was approved, a ‘lovely lady’, who she didn’t know, offered to come round to help.
Unfortunately for Zoe, however, the spider managed to escape.
‘We lost the spider so the bathroom is now barricaded up and out of use.
‘I’m having to use a neighbour’s home to shower. I just know if I get in to have a wash it’ll appear.
‘It’s legs are so big I bet it could rival Tom Daley while swimming so I won’t take any chances.
The arachnophobe said things were easier when she lived opposite a garage.
‘I would grab the lads from there and give them ice cream for helping me,’ she explained.
‘People who can stomach spiders are elite members of society who we need to protect at all costs.’
Zoe said she has been terrified of the insects since she lived in a spider-infested home as a child.
‘I grew up in a council house in Gateshead where there were spiders everywhere.
‘My mam had to put our food in Tupperware boxes as spiders would roam the cupboards and get in our food.
‘I would be in bed and a spider would run across it. It was horrendous.
‘I can’t sleep if I know a spider is on the loose.
‘You always hear ‘they are more scared of you than them’ but that isn’t true – we are definitely more scared.’
Earlier this year, warehouse workers in Oldham, Manchester found a spider ‘the size of a hand’ in boxes shipped over from China.
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