John Stafford, 54, has such a bad case of arachnophobia that his doctor has told him that even Halloween displays in shop windows could give him a fatal heart attack.

Mr Stafford, who is so scared of spying a spider that he is forced to stay indoors during the fright-night festivities, told the Evening News: "When I tell shop owners about it they think it's funny, but it's not a laughing matter. I stop breathing and pass out, it's just terrifying.

"I've had the condition all my life. I've tried everything – hypnosis, pills – but nothing makes it better."

Mr Stafford, who moved to Scarborough from Strood in Kent in August, says that a doctor has warned him that seeing an arachnid could kill him.

"I get under such stress that it could kill me, this time of year is absolutely awful for me," he said. "My doctor back home said that my heart is so badly bruised now that a bad attack could be fatal."

Now he's hoping that shopkeepers will be banned from putting up spider sales displays. He said: "It's just thoughtless – they don't realise the effect they can have on people. I think displays like this should be against the law.

His wife Maria, 44, added: "The other day we saw a window display in Eastborough that had some spiders and I thought I'd nearly lost him.

"He just slumped and fell against me – I had to hit him with my keys to bring him round.

"I've known my husband since I was four years old and I don't want to bury him now."

Several shops in Scarborough town centre have window displays featuring spiders as the town builds up to the annual Halloween festivities.

The display in the window of Thomas the Baker in Westborough features a creepy-crawly and a giant cobweb.

Manager Sue Barr said: "The window's just a bit of fun – and the spider's plastic! I'm a bit shocked to hear about this chap's reaction, we obviously never intended to cause anybody any harm."

Read the full story in Wednesday's Evening News