A SNAKE and dozens of tarantulas have been found in the former home of a Witney man evicted for keeping noisy dogs.

The animals belonged to Roger Sutton, who was kicked out of his home in Colwell Drive earlier this month after neighbours complained about the noise and smell coming from the property.

Mr Sutton, who had 38 dogs, lived at the property for more than 30 years before housing association A2Dominion took action.

Unbeknown to his neighbours, Mr Sutton left 42 tarantulas in the home, as well as a corn snake.

The spiders were a mixture of young baboon tarantulas, which are not deadly but can be aggressive, and some adult Chilean rose tarantulas, which are docile but can grow to the size of a fist.

They were found alive by A2Dominion officers last week, and a further inspection by RSPCA officers on Tuesday uncovered another batch of tarantulas and the snake.

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

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

Mr Sutton, 62, said his wife hatched the spiders six months ago, but they did not have time to take their unusual pets with them.

He said: “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.”

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 – some of the plastic containers were empty.”

Neighbour Dave Roberts, 48, added: “Roger is an animal-lover. He used to keep birds and cats, but I didn’t know about the spiders.”

RSPCA animal collection officer Dennis Lovell 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 supressed immune system, an elderly person or a young person, was bitten it could cause them a few problems.”

The spiders and snake have been taken to a specialist centre in Hemel Hempstead, where they will be rehomed.

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