A Clacton man has suffered flash burns after attempting to chase a spider using aerosol and a cigarette lighter.
The 28-year-old man had been asked to capture the spider by his wife after she had spotted it in the bathroom of their home on Oxford Road, Clacton, at around 10.30pm on Monday night.
He originally used an aerosol spray to scare off the creepy crawly but after realising the bathroom bulb was broken he attempted to shed some light on the situation using a lighter causing a huge explosion.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and administered first aid before ambulance workers arrived to treat the flash burn injuries.
Commenting on whether the man’s attempts to get rid of the spider had been successful a Fire Service spokesman said: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."