By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 07:52 EST, 23 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:04 EST, 23 October 2013 . A bodybuilder has become allergic to all insects after suffering a severe reaction when he was bitten by a poisonous spider. Gary Meadows, 34, from Teesville in Middlesbrough, required a skin graft after a venomous false widow bit him in 2011, and has reacted badly to all insects ever since. The care-home worker has now been hospitalised four times in two years after encounters with bugs saying he 'blows up' like Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory every time he is bitten. Nightmare: Bodybuilder Gary Meadows has been hospitalised four times because of  insect bites since he was first bitten by a false widow spider in 2011, leaving him requiring a skin graft (right) The worrying revelation comes just a day after a school in Gloucestershire was closed because of a false widow infestation. Yesterday the Mail Online also reported a grandfather nearly died and came close to having his leg amputated following a severe reaction to a false widow bite. Last week, Mr Meadows required hospital treatment after a midge . bit him in the chest and four weeks early he was taken to A&E after . being bitten by a red mite. He said: 'My immune system is shot, basically, and when I’m bitten I blow up like that girl off Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve been back in hospital four times since that first bite.' Mr Meadows was tending to his allotment when the poisonous spider bit him in 2011. He said he swelled up 'like a boxing glove' and at one stage was told by doctors his arm may have to be amputated. 'I told them "You can’t take my arm off, I work, I go to the gym five times a week". 'I . go swimming and fishing. They told me they would have to cut out part . of my arm and I would be left with a really big scar, but it was either . that or lose my arm.' Sever: Last week the 34-year-old was treated at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough after a midge bit him on his chest . After the flesh had been removed, he had a skin graft taken from his leg to cover the hole left in his arm. He was off work recovering for seven months and was left with a permanent scar. He said: 'Ironically, before I was bitten by the spider, I lived in Australia for six months and saw huntsman spiders, red widows, swam with crocodiles and sharks and never had anything bad happen to me.' Mr Meadows, who works at Primrose Court Nursing Home in Middlesbrough, has seen his life altered forever, but says he tries not to let it overwhelm him. 'I don’t think about it too much,' he said. 'If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen, I can’t stay inside for the rest of my life.' Rest: He was off work recovering for seven months after the bite in 2011 . Moving around: There has been a spate of spiders reported around the country in the past week . The false black widow, which is said to be spreading further north due to warmer weather, has the worst bite of any spider in the UK. There have been a spate of bites reported across the country in the past few weeks. Amateur Devon footballer Steve Harris, for instance, had to undergo emergency surgery after a bite on his leg last week. The spider is a cousin of the black widow and is about the size of a 50p piece. It delivers venom that can kill those who are allergic to it. It first came to the UK more than 100 years ago in crates of fruit from the Canary Islands. The Natural History Museum’s Insect Information Service hears of about ten cases of spider bites each year, although no one in the UK has ever died as a result of one. The distribution of the false widow spider is expected to increase northwards in the UK due, at least partly, to mild summers in recent years.
Gary Meadows, 34, was bitten by the spider while gardening in 2011 .
Required a skin graft and now has been hospitalised four times since .
Was taken to A&E after being bitten by a red mite .
By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 07:52 EST, 23 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:04 EST, 23 October 2013 . A bodybuilder has become allergic to all insects after suffering a severe reaction when he was bitten by a poisonous spider. Gary Meadows, 34, from Teesville in Middlesbrough, required a skin graft after a venomous false widow bit him in 2011, and has reacted badly to all insects ever since. The care-home worker has now been hospitalised four times in two years after encounters with bugs saying he 'blows up' like Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory every time he is bitten. Nightmare: Bodybuilder Gary Meadows has been hospitalised four times because of  insect bites since he was first bitten by a false widow spider in 2011, leaving him requiring a skin graft (right) The worrying revelation comes just a day after a school in Gloucestershire was closed because of a false widow infestation. Yesterday the Mail Online also reported a grandfather nearly died and came close to having his leg amputated following a severe reaction to a false widow bite. Last week, Mr Meadows required hospital treatment after a midge . bit him in the chest and four weeks early he was taken to A&E after . being bitten by a red mite. He said: 'My immune system is shot, basically, and when I’m bitten I blow up like that girl off Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve been back in hospital four times since that first bite.' Mr Meadows was tending to his allotment when the poisonous spider bit him in 2011. He said he swelled up 'like a boxing glove' and at one stage was told by doctors his arm may have to be amputated. 'I told them "You can’t take my arm off, I work, I go to the gym five times a week". 'I . go swimming and fishing. They told me they would have to cut out part . of my arm and I would be left with a really big scar, but it was either . that or lose my arm.' Sever: Last week the 34-year-old was treated at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough after a midge bit him on his chest . After the flesh had been removed, he had a skin graft taken from his leg to cover the hole left in his arm. He was off work recovering for seven months and was left with a permanent scar. He said: 'Ironically, before I was bitten by the spider, I lived in Australia for six months and saw huntsman spiders, red widows, swam with crocodiles and sharks and never had anything bad happen to me.' Mr Meadows, who works at Primrose Court Nursing Home in Middlesbrough, has seen his life altered forever, but says he tries not to let it overwhelm him. 'I don’t think about it too much,' he said. 'If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen, I can’t stay inside for the rest of my life.' Rest: He was off work recovering for seven months after the bite in 2011 . Moving around: There has been a spate of spiders reported around the country in the past week . The false black widow, which is said to be spreading further north due to warmer weather, has the worst bite of any spider in the UK. There have been a spate of bites reported across the country in the past few weeks. Amateur Devon footballer Steve Harris, for instance, had to undergo emergency surgery after a bite on his leg last week. The spider is a cousin of the black widow and is about the size of a 50p piece. It delivers venom that can kill those who are allergic to it. It first came to the UK more than 100 years ago in crates of fruit from the Canary Islands. The Natural History Museum’s Insect Information Service hears of about ten cases of spider bites each year, although no one in the UK has ever died as a result of one. The distribution of the false widow spider is expected to increase northwards in the UK due, at least partly, to mild summers in recent years.
now been hospitalised four times in two years Nightmare: Bodybuilder Gary Meadows has been in 2011, leaving him requiring a skin graft chest and four weeks early he was taken to A&E after . being bitten by a red mite. He said: 'My was bitten by the spider, I lived in Australia