A terrified man spotted a giant spider hanging on the side of his house - the size of half a BRICK.

The giant huntsman spider, which was not even fully grown, was spotted clinging to the side of a red brick house in Kent - thousands of miles away from their traditional homelands in the tropics.

RSPCA animal collection officer Louis Horton was called out to the house in Sevenoaks on May 15 - but initially thought it was a joke.

Huntsman spiders are known as one of the fastest spiders on the planet and can grow to a massive 12 inches.

She said: "I honestly expected to get there and find a big house spider or a toy spider or something silly but it was a huntsman.

"It wasn't a giant huntsman but was big enough, it was about the size of the palm of my hand so it wasn't the usual spider you'd expect to find in your house!

"It was clinging to the outside wall of the man's house and he said it had barely moved since he first spotted it.

"I removed it, confined it in a box and took it to experts at Heathrow's Animal Reception Centre to be quarantined.

"Huntsman spiders can give a nasty bite so they were lucky they didn't get hurt.

"We would advise anyone who comes across any animal in distress to contact our 24-hour emergency line."

Huntsman spiders originate in parts of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas.