A boy has been left with a gaping hole in his leg after being bitten by a poisonous spider, his mother claims.
Bobby Barnett, nine, was taken to his GP and A&E, where it was believed he had simply been bitten by a tiny insect called a gnat.
He was sent home with antibiotics, but over the next few days, Bobby's mother Emma Barnett, 34, panicked as the wound grew.
It rapidly turned into a gaping and infected hole and he had to be rushed to hospital near his home of Canvey, Essex.
Ms Barnett claims doctors told her that the poison from the spider's bite had eaten away at the flesh.
Bobby Barnett, nine, of Canvey, Essex, has been left with a gaping hole in his leg after being bitten by a poisonous spider, his mother claims
Bobby was taken to his GP and doctors at A&E, who both believed he had simply suffered a gnat bite. They prescribed antihistamines and later, antibiotics
Ms Barnett, a primary school teacher, claims doctors told her that the poison from the spider's bite had eaten away at the flesh. Pictured, while in its worse state
Bobby has been 'scarred for life', his mother said. His case comes just weeks after experts warned dangerous spiders are increasing in numbers in the UK.
Ms Barnett, a primary school teacher, said: 'It was shocking seeing the decaying flesh. My mum has a strong stomach but she gagged straight away.
'We took him back to A&E and he was put on an IV drip and they confirmed it was a spider bite and that the poison had begun eating his flesh.
'I just knew something wasn't right. I didn't want to tell a doctor how to do their profession, but I wished I'd have trusted my gut as his mum.'
Ms Barnett told The Echo her son reacts to gnat bites, which look similar to mosquito bites, quite badly and that they are itchy.
He was bitten on the Monday, but by the Thursday it had become swollen and so Ms Barnett applied Savlon, an anti-septic cream.
By the end of the day, the after school club Bobby attends called his mother to say he was limping on his leg.
Teachers lifted his trousers and found his bite was weeping so he was taken for an emergency appointment at the GP.
Bobby, pictured in hospital during the ordeal, was bitten on the Monday. By the Sunday - after two trips to see doctors - he was on an IV drip
The GP said it was an uninfected bite and he was given antihistamine and pain relief and told to return if it didn't improve within 24 hours.
But Ms Barnett said: 'The way the bite was looking I just knew it was infected so I was quite surprised when the nurse just prescribed antihistamine and pain relief.
'Then while Bobby was with his Nan, she called me and said we need to take him to hospital as it looked really infected.'
At an emergency appointment at Orsett Hospital, the wound was dressed and Bobby was given antibiotics, to Ms Barnett's relief.
She said:
