Man Resigns Job, Sends Tarantula

Man Resigns Job, Sends Tarantula

LONDON (AP) - A man admitted Wednesday to delivering a package containing a tarantula to a female co-worker on the same day he handed in his resignation.

Mahlon Hector pleaded guilty in Leicester Magistrates' Court to delivering a rare Mexican red-kneed tarantula in a box addressed to the colleague at a branch of the Marks & Spencer store in Leicester. At the same time, he handed store bosses his resignation.

The intended recipient, Susan Griffin, was not hurt.

Hector, 22, is to be sentenced later on the charge of sending a letter or other article conveying a threat on March 28. He did not reveal his motive in court.

When workers at the store discovered the tarantula, they alerted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which took it away.

"It was a daft idea. They are not the most dangerous spider, but it could be fatal if it is given to someone who has an allergic reaction to it," a spokesman for the society said. "The woman who received it must have been terrified."

The Mexican red-kneed tarantula is commonly used in movies because of its scary appearance.

With a leg span measuring up to 10 inches, it has a hairy dark brown body and reddish-orange leg joints. Each leg ends with two claws, which are used for climbing trees.

It is said to bite rarely, but flicks its hairs at victims.

It is the only tarantula listed as rare by the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species.