Ever since the false widow spider thing was in the news, every spider I have seen I have thought was one, but yesterday I took a light fitting down and hiding behind it was this, ugly looking mofo. Anyone know what it is?
It was an agressive little bugger aswell, picking a fight with a big garden spider that was near by.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/90926780/nasty%20spider.jpg)
Wouldn't be that worried. Even false black widows aren't that bad, about as bad as a bee sting, just something the media has hyped up because it sells papers.
But as to the spider, I thought it looked like a walnut Orb weaver, but could also be a pirate spider, looks similar to some pics on the net, and they "raid" other spiders webs (prey on other spiders) so fits your description?
That looks like a juvenile red back. You get a lot of them come in on fruit crates and if they get somewhere warm they can live through our winter although most die of lack of food due to their hunting style not fitting the available prey. Watch out for bite marks - you're talking localized skin loss, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, nausea and agonizing tremors. More significant, though thankfully rarer, symptoms include seizures, coma and respiratory failure.
You forgot leprosy. Definitely gives you leprosy.