VISITORS to one of York’s most popular tourist attractions have been warned to stay alert over Hallowe’en – because the world’s biggest spider may be just around the corner.

Armed with only a torch, those visiting the Yorkshire Museum are being invited to explore the darker side of its collections at a string of special events which will see Roman gods, pagan spirits and ancient bugs come out to play.

The hour-long torchlit tours start at 6pm and 7pm every night between October 24 and 31.

“We are creating a new display of ancient bugs especially for half-term, with one of the stars being a cast of the world’s biggest spider, the size of a man’s head.

“In fact, this was later found to be a sea scorpion, but it is still a very scary specimen.”