JARS of tarantulas were abandoned in a Witney home, after the tenant was evicted.

Roger Sutton and his 38 dogs had to leave Colwell Drive on June 9, after more than 30 years.

He had been evicted by housing association A2Dominion, after neighbours complained about the noise and smell coming from the property.

In March, the 62-year-old was fined £2,000 for breaking a noise abatement order.

But unbeknown to his neighbours, Mr Sutton had left 21 baboon tarantulas in the home.

The spiders, which are not deadly but can be aggressive, were found alive by officers from the housing association on Thursday last week — more than a week after they had been abandoned.

Laurinda Hornblow, A2Dominion’s area director, said: “We can confirm that about 20 tarantulas were discovered, in secure jars, during an environmental clean of the property in Colwell Drive, Witney.

“A2Dominion has contacted the RSPCA, which has agreed to collect the tarantulas.”

Mr Sutton, 62, managed to re-home most of his dogs, and is staying with family in Poole.

He said that his wife had hatched the spiders six months ago, but the couple had not had time to bring their unusual pets with them: “We would have very much liked to take our tarantulas with us, but we didn’t have the time, as we had to be out of the house by 8am.

“We left all our furniture and everything apart from us, our dogs, and our clothes.”

The father-of-four said that tarantulas could live for weeks without food.

He said: “We hoped somebody would find them, but we had our dogs to worry about.

“We didn’t contact the RSPCA, we didn’t think.”

Next-door neighbour, David Kerslake, 45, saw the tarantulas being carried out of the semi-detached house.

He said: “My wife was worried more than me. I am always working, but my wife is at home, and she hates spiders.

“The thought of them escaping, where would they go? They could go in the cavity wall.

“I just hope they got them all, as some of the plastic containers were empty.”

Dennis Lovell, RSPCA animal collection officer, picked up the spiders, which were the size of a 50p coin, but can grow to the size of a golf ball, from Colwell Drive.

He said: “It was quite unusual to find these spiders, but they must have been breeding them.

“They give a nasty bite, but they are not deadly.

“If somebody with a suppressed immune system, an elderly person, or a young person, was bitten, it could cause them a few problems.”

The spiders have been taken to a specialist centre in Hemel Hempstead, where they will be re-homed.

Mr Lovell said that the spiders were healthy and would have fed on mites and insects found in the soil they lived on.

He added: “I think it’s out of order to abandon them, but that is me personally, they were lucky they were found.

“There is no need to abandon them.

“They must have been breeding them to sell them — they sell at £5 to £10 each, so that’s £200 of spiders.”

Arachnids have no protection under any animal rights laws.