A full-scale police operation was triggered in Australia when neighbours sounded the alarm over a man shouting death threats at his home.

Wanneroo Police were soon on site to tackle the 'threat' but what they actually found was that the man had slain an arachnid.

The incident unfolded in the suburbs of Perth on Wednesday, when a person called the police on his neighbours.

He had overheard the man repeatedly shouting “Why don’t you die?”. There was a crying toddler in the background and the screaming man's partner could not be heard. 

But instead of the expected domestic violence, the police found that the man had bravely 'murdered' a home-invading arachnid. The shouting and loud death threats were caused by the man’s “serious fear of spiders”.

“No injuries sighted (except for spider). No further police involvement required,” the police log read. The size and type of the spider was not disclosed.