A BRAVE Greenock hairdresser faced her biggest fear to raise vital funds for the specialist team who cared for her late sister.

Leah Downie decided to conquer her arachnophobia and hold a giant tarantula in her hand to help Ardgowan Hospice, who looked after her much-loved sister, Audrey Coyle, who battled breast cancer twice.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the 39-year-old Greenock nurse's death, Leah bravely held the creepy crawlie and raised £1,700 for the cause.

The Skelmorlie mum, who owns Audrey's Salon in Braeside, admitted she was 'traumatised' after the encounter but had been desperate to uphold the promise she made her sister before she died.

Leah, mum to Zak, Caleb and Maiyah, told the Tele: "Before Audrey passed away I said to her that I would raise money for Ardgowan - but I wasn't shaving my head or doing a sporting event.

"When I thought about what I was most terrified of, the first thing that came to me was spiders - I used to have to call Audrey and tell her to come and help if one was in my house.

"It was terrifying, but Audrey faced cancer head on twice with no fuss or drama, so I knew I could hold a spider for 10 minutes.

"Audrey had always hoped to eventually work for the hospice, so I'm really glad I was able to do this for her.

"I like to think she was laughing watching me do the challenge."

Leah, who lives with husband Christopher and their children, 'borrowed' the eight-legged creature from a hairdressing client for the task.

The 39-year-old was joined by her youngest Maiyah, who is nine, during the encounter.

Leah told the Tele: "Maiyah was fine with it, but the air was blue when I was finished!

"The tarantula was much lighter than I expected.

"It was a total out of body experience for me, I felt like I was watching myself from above!"

As well as handing over the impressive sum to the hospice, Leah will be continuing to fundraise for them by creating hand-made cards to honour her late mum Mary Coyle.

She added: "Before my mum passed away she used to handcraft greetings cards and everything she made would be donated to the hospice.

"I've got all her supplies and I'm finally ready to take over, so I'll be selling them from the shop.

"It'll hopefully mean we can have a steady stream of funds going to the hospice."

Elaine McNeill, fundraising officer at Ardgowan Hospice, added: "We are so proud of Leah for facing her fears, what a brave thing to do in memory of her sister, Audrey.

"We are so grateful she chose to do something like this to raise vital funds to help us support Inverclyde patients and their families."

To donate to Leah's fundraiser, visit bit.ly/3AbBktM