SPIDER!!!!

This morning I woke up to a rather nasty surprise. Well, actually it was the kids outside that woke me up (the little buggers), so I opened the curtain to see how many of them were making the dreadful noise, then decided I didn't care and closed the curtain again. Imagine my surprise to see a great big spider there. For a second I thought - "How did my joke spider get up there" but then I remembered it doesnt cling to curtains, and besides, my joke spider was smaller, with a bigger body. I realised it was a real spider and sat there in awe - it was huuuge - allow me to show you what it looked like:


So, naturally, after registering that this was a real spider and a big one at that, I got out of the bed and stood on the ladder; taking a look from more of a distance, then I called Dad into the room to take a look.
We both agreed that it was a pretty impressive spider. He captured it and took it outside, and I went back up to my room, and checked my clothes so that I wouln't find any more surprises.

It looks like a small version of the American 'Brown Recluse' but it can't be, purely because they just aren't found in Britain. I thought it may be a wolf spider as I've heard they can be found in Britain, but I've heard of them having a huge leg span, so I'm not really sure and besides, the markings are all wrong. Didn't look like a house spider - body and legs weren't quite right, and it wasn't a garden spider - they are black/brown and yellow, small and quite hairy. This was just brown and not very hairy. I really am quite bewildered as to what this spider could be. I'd love to know, because this was one impressive spider, although admittedly pretty scary when you see it right next to your leg!

Well, I'm not sleeping in my bed tonight if I'm gonna wake up next to that again tomorrow morning!


EDIT: I think it probably was a House Spider, this is what a house spider looks like:

(Note - this is Not the spider on the curtain, merely an idea of what the spider looks like!)
Notice the similarities between that and the brown recluse:


Still - Imagine that house spider on your bed! Uuugghh!