Giant Afghan spider killed my dog...

A TERRIFIED family left their home after a giant Afghan spider killed their pet dog.

Lorraine Griffiths, 37, and her family have QUIT their four-bed house in Colchester, Essex, after the camel spider killed their beloved pet dog Bella.

And Lorraine thinks Paratrooper hero hubby Rodney, 32, who came home from duty in Helmand in June, is to blame.

As Rodney returned for another tour of duty in Afghanistan, care worker Lorraine is now living at her mum's with kids Cassie, 18, Ricky, 16 and four-year-old Ellie-Rose until the spider is found.

Lorraine said: "It was the size of a palm. I think it hitched a lift with my husband.

"He's back out there now, but I'm petrified of spiders and I cannot live in that house until it's gone.

"Ricky was in my bedroom, went into the drawer under my bed and something crawled across his hand. He saw a huge spider and screamed to Cassie.

"They tried to corner it, but it was too big. They poked it with a coat hanger and the spider bit it.

"The dog came in and barked. The spider hissed and Bella went running out whimpering."

Eight-year-old pet Bella was put down shortly after being taken ill.

Both the RSPCA and Army have failed in their attempts to find the spider, which can grow up to 6ins and run up to 10mph.

But Iain Newby, of Essex's Dangerous and Wild Animals Rescue Facility, said: "It's venomous, but would not kill you."