This colony was relocated to the reserve in 2012 after a local man discovered over 60 spiders nesting in his kitchen cupboard. Further details can be found on the related BBC news story
The noble false widow was first recorded in the UK in the 1870s and many more times over the following decades, though these were always considered isolated examples that had arrived with imported goods. However, since the mid-1980s it appears that this species gained a strong foothold in the UK establishing local populations in the southern counties, notably Devon, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Essex.
Males bite more frequently than females because the males leave their webs when mature in search of mates. Bites are mostly recorded from males finding their way into bedding or clothes and it is only under these circumstances that they are provoked to bite, unless nesting females are disturbed.
The described bite symptoms have generally never been much worse than wasp sting, perhaps longer lasting and with some radiating pain from the site of the bite. Currently such bites are not considered medically significant, though if more severe symptoms are experienced it would be wise to seek medical advice.