Australian town caught up in curious 'spider rain' phenomenon

Residents of a small town in New South Wales, Australia have described how the sun was almost blotted out when thousands of baby spiders rained down from the sky.

In what could easily be scenes from a nightmare or a Hollywood horror movie, astonished locals feared their town of Goulburn had been invaded by the countless spiderlings as homes and gardens were "covered" with the creepy crawlies.

Resident Ian Watson told the Sydney Morning Herald that his house had been "abandoned and taken over by spiders".

Whilst this terrifying experience would inevitably cause a huge panic in the UK, 'spider rain' is not uncommon across parts of Australia - and has nothing to do with precipitation.

Some species of spiders climb to the tops of plants and trees and leap off, using their web-silk as tiny parachutes often referred to as Angel Hair.

Scientists believe this migration technique - known as ballooning - has allowed arachnids to colonise every continent on Earth.