A Christchurch woman has stumbled across an incredibly large spider in the dunes of the seaside suburb New Brighton.

On Tuesday, Baylee Bensley-Howell captured footage of the spider which she described as the "biggest spider I've ever seen".

The couple spotted the giant arachnid near Bottle Lake Forest, a place where they frequently walk.

"My boyfriend Anaru and I were walking our dog, and my boyfriend was looking at the cobwebs on the bushes, and he just saw it out of the corner of his eye.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It gave him a bit of a fright, so he had to go investigate," she told the Herald.

"We were quite surprised that it was so out in the open."

Despite being inquisitive, Bensley-Howell kept her distance.

"I wasn't frightened, but I definitely wouldn't want to come across one in my house!"

The native nursery-web spider had a black body with white stripes on its back and dark red legs, but is completely harmless.