Teenager’s ‘spider bite’ at Enfield cinema

A TEENAGER is in recovery after being bitten by a venomous spider while watching a film at a cinema popular with the Turkish-speaking communities.

Stephanie Georgio said she was bitten by a false widow spider at the Enfield Cineworld in Southbury Road, where Turkish films are often shown.

She said it happened while she was on a date, moments after she sat down to watch the advertisements. She was there to see Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.

She told the Enfield Independent: “I sat down and went to put my drink in the cup holder but must have left it there for a bit too long. I felt this thing like an electric shock, and I scratched my right hand but didn’t think about it and carried on watching the film.

“I started feeling really hot, but I thought it was just the temperature in the cinema, and my hand was itching.

“Then when we left I didn’t feel right. I was really dizzy and I snapped at my date.”

Miss Georgio was given antibiotics by her GP, but despite these her condition continued to deteriorate. She was taken with a raised heartbeat and fever to Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield, where she had two operations to remove tissue from her hand. It is understood she will be permanently scarred.

A spokesman for Cineworld told the paper: “Cineworld is investigating an incident at its Enfield cinema where it has been alleged that a customer was bitten by a spider.

“Customer safety is our absolute priority and we instructed a specialist pest control team to carry out an immediate inspection of the whole premises. Pest control teams carry out regular checks at all of our cinemas on an ongoing basis.”

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cineworld-enfield.jpg The Cineworld in Enfield where the spider is alleged to have bitted Miss Georgio

spider.jpg A false widow spider