A shopper found a cocoon of eggs belonging to a deadly spider in bananas he had bought from Asda.

A man, who did not wish to be named, had returned from a shopping trip at the supermarket in Granton, in Edinburgh, when he made the discovery.

There was a small black hole in the side of one of the bananas, covered in webbing.

The eggs were believed to have belonged to a deadly Brazilian wandering spider.

The man phoned the police, who promptly destroyed the eggs.

A police spokeswoman said: "Police in Edinburgh were called to an address in the Granton area on Monday 12th February after a member of the public discovered what were believed to be exotic spider eggs on a bunch of bananas purchased from a local supermarket.

"Officers made contact with various experts and the eggs were subsequently destroyed.

"No one was injured and it is believed the eggs were already dead, having gone through cold storage on their way to the UK."

An Asda spokesperson said: "This matter has been brought to the attention of our supplier and our product manager, who will continue to monitor the situation."