I was wondering if someone could help identify this spider?
There were 6 of these hiding in a garden swing I have just dismantled. To my untrained eye it looks like it might be a false widow, but a trawl of the internet suggests they are normally only found in the south of the country.
This is a Zygiella species, or 'missing sector orb weaver'. They do get confused occasionally for false widows, but are completely harmless. They do like making their homes on man made structures and are very common on the exterior of houses, window frames, cars, climbing frames...you name it really.