Urgent warning to Britons as more than 50 different species of spider are found in a nature reserve - including one that has NEVER been seen there before

If the idea of even seeing a spider makes your skin crawl, make sure you steer clear of Orford Ness.

The nature reserve and former 20th century military testing site is 'crawling' with spiders, according to the British Arachnological Society.

Surveys carried out by the society show that the site in Suffolk is home to a whopping 55 different species.

That includes 12 believed to be nationally rare or scare, and one species of jumping spider that has never been seen on the Suffolk coast before.

This jumping spider has previously only been found in six other locations across Britain at sites hundreds of miles away on the south coast.

Thankfully, the experts say that none of the spiders pose a threat to humans.

Matt Wilson, the National Trust 's Countryside Manager for the Suffolk and Essex Coast, said: 'It's great to have identified a new species of spider on Orford Ness along with confirming that the other rare species last recorded in the early 2000's can still be found here.

'Whilst the photographs we have may make them look fierce, many are so small that they were unlikely to have been found by non-experts and their equipment.'

The British Arachnological Society carried out two surveys at Orford Ness this year.

The fragile coastal habitat – the largest shingle spit in Europe – consists of 2,000 acres of reed marshes, mud flats, brackish lagoons, and delicate shingle ridges and valleys.

'The coastal marshes along with the challenging shingle environment here offer habitats for several different types of "specialist" species, and the presence of so many of these, as well as their high numbers, indicates a generally healthy habitat,' Mr Wilson explained.

'Although shingle habitats are prone to damage by leisure and commercial activity, we believe the remote nature of Orford Ness, where disturbance is limited, may be helping these spider species to succeed.'

Among the rarest of the species is the Gnaphosa lugubris.

While just 69 have been spotted in the UK since records began in 1900, the survey indicates that several thousand could be living in Orford Ness.

Richard Gallon from the British Arachnological Society said: 'Orford Ness is one of the UK's premier sites for specialist coastal shingle spiders.

'The rainy weather on our first survey in May wasn't ideal.

'Jumping spiders in particular are sun-worshippers, and tend to hide away in poor weather, so we weren't expecting to find many of these.

'However, despite the weather, we soon located the nationally scarce Pseudeuophrys obsoleta hiding in empty Whelk shells on the shingle – its favoured retreat.'

However, the real highlight of the survey was the discovery of the Neon pictus – a jumping spider that has never been seen on the Suffolk coast before.

'The highlight of the survey came towards the end of that day when a small jumping spider was spotted clinging to the underside of a rock – this was Neon pictus,' Mr Gallon added.

'We were delighted to find this species at Orford, as it extends the known UK range of this nationally rare species into East Anglia.

'Other spider records made during the survey are also important, confirming the continued presence of several rare and scarce species on the site.'

Overall, the researchers hope the discoveries will highlight the rich diversity of the wildlife living on Orford Ness.

Ben McCarthy, Head of Nature Conservation & Restoration Ecology at the National Trust concluded: 'It's brilliant to see the results of this survey on one of our most extraordinary wildlife sites.

'Unlike most of our sites, Orford Ness has a relatively short history of biological recording as it was largely closed to the public until the 1990s when the National Trust acquired it.

'Since then its importance keeps on growing and especially for its fantastic invertebrate fauna including these wonderful spiders.

'It's great to see that the careful management of the site's habitats - from shingle to saltmarsh to grasslands to wetlands - support so many of these often maligned but important species.'