Man to live with spiders to raise money for charity

MELBOURNE - A 67-year-old Australian man hopes to raise about $50,000 for a children’s charity by spending three weeks in his Melbourne shop window surrounded by hundreds of spiders.

Though Nick Le Souef says he does not care much for the spiders, the shop owner will put up with the creepy crawlies for a children’s charity, Variety, AAP reported.

“I don’t like spiders all that much, I must confess,” Le Souef said as he embarked on his record-breaking attempt Monday.

Le Souef originally hoped to do the stunt with snakes, but licensing issues put a stop to that. So instead he is spending his time with dangerous bird-eating spiders and other common varieties.

There were about 400 of them until a “massacre” happened when the creatures started eating one another. A few crickets and cockroaches will be thrown into the window of his shop to keep the remaining 300 satisfied.

Le Souef is not afraid of being bitten or anything crawling over him while he sleeps, and hopes the “fear factor” will encourage others to donate to Variety.

He holds Australian records for three-week stints in a snake pit and a shark tank.